Zena in my pocket
Zena in My Pocket is a visual journey through the narrow veins of Genoa—its carrugi, its shadows, its sudden explosions of light—captured entirely on Fujifilm Quicksnap 400 single-use analog cameras. What began as a playful constraint became a signature of the project: immediacy, imperfection, and the raw honesty of film with no second chances.
This series expands on my ongoing exploration The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, a project inspired by the idea that we perform versions of ourselves in public, constantly shifting between who we are, who we want to be, and who the world expects us to be. With Zena in My Pocket, this concept becomes more intimate, more accidental, and more instinctive—filtered through the limitations and freedoms of a disposable camera tucked into a pocket.
Across 34 photographs, presented as 17 carefully paired diptychs, the narrative unfolds without imposing a definitive storyline. Each pair forms a chapter—two frames in dialogue, two glimpses that resonate, contradict, or complete each other. The beginning and the end are not fixed; they are in the hands of the viewer, who becomes the final author of the story.
Shot entirely in Genoa, the project is both a tribute to the city and a study of transient moments: gestures in passing, fragments of urban life, and the subtle theatre of people moving through their own realities. The grain, the blur, the light leaks—they’re not flaws but clues, guiding the viewer deeper into a world where nothing is staged and everything is observed.
Zena in My Pocket is a pocket-sized chronicle of a city, a character study of strangers, and an invitation to interpret, assemble, and discover a story that only exists when you look closely enough.
