f31

The f31 project is the result of a collaboration between portraitist Roberto Prosdocimo and photographer Federico Lanzani. Their shared goal is to restore to photography a sense of reality, uniqueness, and irreproducibility, at a time when it has lost all connection to physicality and truth, becoming mere digital consumerism (contributing to the problem of digital image pollution). The photographic paper on which the image is generated is unique and unrepeatable like raw file, a physical artifact, akin to a token. This immediately becomes a finished piece, ready for display after its creation, yet deserving of preservation and protection. To achieve this, f31 has perfected a process of inverting photographic paper from negative to positive, in both color and black and white. This process required over two years of dedicated study and preparation. The result is an alchemical process that allows for direct development photographs up to 61×61cm (24"×24"), using an exceptionally large camera designed and built entirely by hand for this project. This has led f31 to create a new visual language with a distinctive and recognizable aesthetic. The f31's technique allows them to utilize and control a range of variables and interventions specific to analog photography, such as multiple exposures achieved in-camera. Through these recovered techniques of the past, reworked for the contemporary, f31 has created its own language to portray our contemporary world and its protagonists, carefully selecting the moments to record. Their shoots become art performances when conducted in public, or profoundly personal experiences when capturing private portraits. f31 is represented by PEP artists for the fine art prints and exhibitions, too.