“Beauty is the splendor of the truth” as Plato said.

Had he expressed his opinion nowadays, he would have come across a large number of enemies, starting from the advertisers: beauty promoted by mass media does not shine with truth, but with the adjustments of Photoshop.

That is why Reality Project was born.

Alessandro Viganò and Matteo Scarpellini, italian photographers and creators of this project, depict the imperfect splendor of human bodies in their pictures.

It is the naked truth, without clothes and any kind of retouch.

 

  • Why did you choose to realize Reality Project?

We got sick and tired of seeing depictions of false beauty every day on the TV, be it shows or advertisements. True beauty is entirely another thing and we just wanted to  make it shine.

 

  • Where do you take the pictures of the people involved in the project?

We usually shoot at the place of the subjects: homes can tell a lot about their personality and their stories. However, when it is not possible, we choose an environment that helps the subject feel at ease and protected.

 

  • When do you meet your subjects for the first time?

The day of the shooting. It obviously happens that people ask us to meet them before that, to get to know each other best, or to have more information on the project.

In any case, what we live is always an amazing challenge.

 

  • Your pictures usually depict every-day life, like reading a book or making coffee. How do you choose what is worth a shot?

We generally spend a couple of hours with the subjects and during that time we ask them to act normally, as they would in their every-day lives. We ask them to do whatever they feel like to, as if we were not there. Those are the moments we are able to take the best shots out of their natural gestures.

Acting spontaneously while being naked surely is hard. We should live in harmony, completely naked for days before not feeling embarrassed anymore.

Anyway, we want to reassure you: the embarrassment only lasts a few minutes. After that, the subjects nearly forgot they were naked. Or at least this is what they told us.

 

  • Can you say there is a mental and emotional nudity in addition to the physical one for the participants of your project?

Nudity is always mental and emotional. It is similar to a psychotherapy session in which we enter into others’ lives for a brief but very intense moment. Taking part in the Reality Project is somehow therapeutic!

 

 

  • How much does an image influence people’s opinions?

Today pictures and videos have a large influence, in particular on young people. Anything aired on the TV is perceived as real and only people working in the media field know that there is very little truth in those images. We use our pictures to contrast this false perception and to let the real bodies speak, not the retouched ones.

 

  • Can photography be useful to improve the relation with our bodies?

A lot, since it can show you an image which is different from the one in the mirror: it is not your way of seeing yourself anymore, but rather another’s point of view.

I believe that the connection with our bodies is more mental than physical. If we could overcome the stereotype-spoiled mental aspects, we could finally live in peace with ourselves.

 

  • What is your purpose with Reality Project?

For now, we strongly wish to promote its philosophy all around the world.

 

  • How can we support the project and contact you?

For the moment the project is self-financed. We have nearly 130 people waiting to be photographed but, unfortunately, as long as we do not have any partner or sponsor, it is very hard to overcome the travel expenses all by ourselves.

To support the project you can donate with Paypal on the homepage of our website: www.realityproject.net

As for funding or more important collaborations you can contact us at Info@realityproject.net.

Another way to support the project is taking actively part into it, telling your friends and following us on Facebook -> here.