Meet the artist

Matilde Gattoni

Matilde is an award-winning French-Italian photographer taking a clear stance based in Barcelona, Spain.

She started her career as a photojournalist in Palestine in 2000 covering the second Intifada. Soon after she was commissioned by the UN to cover the consequences of war and drought on the local population in Eritrea and Tajikistan.

Since then, Matilde has been focusing her work on human rights issues around the world, covering topics such as droughts, refugee emergencies, illegal mining, mass migration, large scale land grabbing and climate change for more than a hundred newspapers and magazines worldwide – always with a crystal clear mind and a keen sense for aesthetics.

Works by Matilde Gattoni

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    Deep talk with the artist

    Your art is

    my life

    Name something you love, and why.

    I love the desert and the sea, they are the only places where I can hear the beating of my heart and I can feel a total connection with the world around me.

    Which professional success meant the most to you?

    Seeing my work featured on the first page on The International Herald Tribune.

    Could you eat cheesecake for a whole week?

    Not without feeling sick and guilty probably.

    Analog or Digital?

    Both, learn the basis of analog photography and then get wild.

    Where do you go when you want to be with you?

    To the seaside, listening to the sound of the waves and looking at the infinite horizon makes me feel at peace with myself.

    Tell us something about your education

    I dreamt of being a lawyer when I was a kid but ended up studying History and Art History in University but I wasn't made for long studies, I was dying to travel the world and understand it with my own eyes.

    A question that moves you right now

    When will I get vaccinated?

    Why photography?

    Because it allows me through composition to put a little order in this rather chaotic world we live in.

    What was the weirdest encounter, the craziest adventure or the most beautiful moment you experienced on a shoot?

    I would say there is a bit of all this in each story I work on, because being a photojournalist is so unpredictable and you have to let yourself go with the flow in order to enter your subject’s world.

    What is more important to you: Form or content?

    Both are interrelated, the form helps to draw attention to the content.

    What part of the human face is your favorite?

    The smile I guess, if the eyes can hide something the smile cannot.

    Where does your inspiration live?

    In the places I visit and the people I meet, I’ve always let emotions run my life, for good and for bad.

    What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    I’m afraid of many things but I’ve always managed to overcome my fears when I really wanted to achieve something.