Creative Shortlist

When developing this project, Giorgia Lisi knew she wanted to explore themes of nature and the human fear of the unknown, so with this idea in mind she started to shoot in the woods at night. Considering her own fears of the unknown, she came to realise they were rooted in the traditional folklore of southern Italy, where she grew up. This project therefore became an exploration of the southern Italian folkloric figure ‘Lu Mamau.’ This spiritual being lives where there is no light and kidnaps children who are too noisy and disobedient, putting them in his sack and taking them far away to his dark lair. With this series, Lisi examines the concept of control that is imposed on children from a very young age, and the ways this connects with the fear of the unknown. All of the photographs were taken at night in locations around The Hague in the Netherlands.

My name is Giorgia Lisi, I am 26 years old and I was born and raised in South Italy.
In my work I explore themes concerning the condition of the human being and how it is unconsciously affected by the dynamics of our contemporary society, staging the photographs in order to transform my imagination into images.