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Icebox Gallery “365D” Three Hundred and Sixty Five Days of a Woman Summary

The Project: 365D (The “D” stands for Donne and for Days) is an original book of photographic portraits and short stories in chronological

For each date of the year, 365 women tell the story of an incident in their lives which happened on that particular day. Women from all over Italy famous and non, of all ages and backgrounds contributed by giving testimony not only of themselves but of a woman’s condition in today’s society which continues a complex path between the redefinition of roles, a newly acquired awareness and a conquest of new civil rights.order like the days of a calendar.

The project put together the ambitious task of recording many feminine sides of contemporary Italy in a succession of random incidents. Whether poetic or dramatic, violent or romantic, contradictory or conscious, they are real.

All the portraits were taken in Backspace studio Rome by photographers Sham Hinchey & Marzia Messina. The video material and graphics by Claudio Conti.

The project in Italy has the patronage of the Ministry for equal opportunities. 365D was made possible thanks to the contribution of title sponsor Carefree® a brand with a high awareness towards the well-being and health of women, and long time supporter of Susan G. Komen Italy, a non-profit organization for the fight against breast cancer to whom proceeds from the book will be donated.

The Concept: The project began in the worst period in Italy for the exploitation of women and the female body in politics, media and advertising. It seemed that every television program or commercial product needed to be accompanied by a provocative or semi nude woman giving a distorted image of reality and one which did not reflect or represent the majority. Marzia Messina creator of 365D set out to portray another more authentic vision. Close up photographs of real women from all levels of society are portrayed in an attempt to communicate through the eyes of 365D, stories which illustrate a more intelligent and sincere face of Italy’s women.

The Photography: The photographic intention in 365D was to equally represent every sphere of society, working with the same conditions, background & lighting for each subject. The women had to be photographed with no distinction and with the same respect they each deserved. The only difference were the faces themselves in which photographer Sham Hinchey highlighted the depth, uniqueness and beauty in all 365 images.

The photographer studied lights that illuminated the faces and did not hide the signs of age or characteristic marks but which softly caressed the skin to reveal them as qualities. He did not photograph the female body. The women of 365D express themselves through their eyes, contrary to the standard images in calendars where the protagonists are usually feminine.

The time spent with each individual was very short. All subjects were strangers, met only moments before the photo session. The women were not accustomed to being in front of lights and a camera lens, therefore Sham had to immediately find a language in which to communicate on the same wave length. He aimed towards a synergy to create sincere dialogue which would permit him to work together with a multitude of different characters, personalities and states of mind, from laughter to tears.

Only in this way could he obtain something unique and authentic with each subject. The right shot usually appeared in the moment that the woman let down their barriers in the conscious or subconscious decision to entrust in the photographer and to have trust in themselves.”

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