1x1 (One by One) shows the things we keep as an anchor to our origin and culture when we move and live abroad. My idea is confining a one square meter on the floor and ask my subjects to put within that space, whatever relates them to their origin and whatever relates them to where they are now. They had full control of the display as long as they keep it within the limits of the 1 x 1 sqm area designated by two measuring bands. When they finished, I set up my equipment and took an overhead shot of the composition with the aim of printing a (1x1 meter) replica of their floor for the exhibition titled 1 x 1. As i am as well an immigrant and searching for a final settlement, with this project I wanted to explore what defines the identity of people like me when it is fused by a foreign one and to discover how much we need "stuff" in order to relate ourselves to who we were in comparison to the present now. The measuring bands not only define the limits of the installation surface, but it also play a role of restricting the borders and drawing a limit to our rights as citizens. Some subjects squeezed as much stuff as possible as a demonstration of their cultural identity, others only positioned a set of crystal Cognac glasses and a crystal bowl of fruits. In this first phase of the project all the subjects are expats living in Italy with most for more than 10 to 20 years. I noticed timid hints of their integration in the foreign society where they are now with examples like a packet of pasta or a citizenship ID, a Panettone cake or nothing except the floor itself. The “floor” came to my attention after completing the shots of the first five subjects. I noticed the importance of the floor in how It represented the solid statement of the foreign land, here represented by Italy, and which one can never cast aside as just a floor. Integration therefore has begun as soon as one touches and sleeps on a foreign floor. The project contains more than 20 subjects so far and my aim is to develop it worldwide. It is intended for all sorts of immigration causes whether it be conflict, human rights abuse, poverty, leisure / pension and a personal choice or professional requirements.
