Tiziana Sonia Spelta

TIFA 2023 Interview with Tiziana Sonia Spelta
Discovery of the Year, 1st Place winner in Editorial, Non-Professional,“Free Palestine.”

Q: Can you briefly tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue photography?

Ever since I was a child, I have been a great fan of books and reading; discovering art forms such as photography, I was enchanted. I think it was also the magic of how light allows photography to exist, to materialise.

Q: What drove you to submit your work to the TIFA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?

I started delving into photography in 2019, and TIFA was the first competition I entered in 2020. I love the city of Tokyo and Japanese culture very much, and the idea of entering such a prestigious international competition with the possibility of winning and that my photographs could be close to other photographers’ beautiful work excited and honoured me greatly.

Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?

This is the second interview I am answering about my work, the first one was about my dear Oblomov Bookshop project. So, in response, here I will recall the words of a beautiful book by Susan Abulhawa, In the Blue Between the Sky and the Sea,
“All this happened in Gaza. It happened in Palestine. And I stayed as long as I could’.
Wrapped up in reflections on what is happening in the Gaza Strip and Palestine today, I asked myself: What can I do for Gaza, for Palestine? What can I do? I thought and tried to create a work that would represent as much as possible the importance, gravity, depth and emotional involvement aroused in millions of people around the world, and in Italy, by the continuous and indiscriminate bombings and killings in the Gaza Strip and the increased raids and imprisonments in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?

Patience, determination, curiosity, passion, and love.

Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?

Trying to take good pictures, to change points of view, to empathise; discovering the important things of a situation, and anticipating what is going to happen.

Q: What motivates and drives your photography?

Photography has become an essential part of my life, like books. Certainly the fact that my work is receiving such important recognition is an incentive and a great boost to believe in my abilities. Thank you!

Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?

I am still too excited to imagine what will happen in the future.