In 2022, the number of permanent residents in the historic centre of Venice has fallen below the 500,000 inhabitants threshold, compared with 110,000 in 1960, while the number of tourists is rising. This contributes to turn this place into the emblem of museum cities. I visited Venice in 2023. My eyes were drawn to the elegant brass bells polished with time, indicating the homes of permanent residents. At first glance, they all looked the same, but each one was unique, forming harmonious abstract pictures, made up of geometric shapes and colour swatches, and inviting me to imagine the singular story of its owner: How long has one been living here? What's its job? Its motivation for staying? I started photographing all the doorbells I came across. Inspired by the New Objectivity movement, I focused on using the same lighting and facial framing, showing the similarities and differences between the bells. Then, I selected 50 bells pictures, in reference to the 500,000 residents threshold, and presented them in the form of 5 mosaics. I conceived this series as a faceless inventory of a species on the verge of extinction: the “Venetian permanent resident”.
