Exhibition of portraits of faces and souls of LGBT Christians “My Spirituality” (1 to June 12, 2011)

Telling stories about people through images is what I’ve been trying to do all my life long. This involves a search for closeness and intimacy that has no precise rules or proven methods to follow. Portraying people, in my opinion, means to establish a dialogue with them not necessarily made of words, where the shot has the value of  synthesis.
Pushing this concept a little further has led me to seek a collaboration with the people you see portrayed here.
Therefore, trying to talk about the relationship between homosexuality and spirituality in their lives could have not been done without their contribution.

I asked them to synthesize with an image, an icon, their sense of God, the way they feel “beyond.” Beyond the appearance, beyond the public image that everyone of us wears daily to deal with the world. An image to be tattooed on their faces as an indelible sign of belonging to their essence. These images are like a letter, a parcel delivered to anyone who might be able to open it and look inside. “There is nothing better to get closer to someone than to share a secret.”

Luca Lo Iacono (Palermo 1972). In ‘90’s attends several studies of advertising photography in Palermo and began to work as a professional in 1997. At the beginning of 2000 he moved to Rome where he worked on Creative-Imaging, reports and stories, working between traditional and digital photography.

He worked as a cinematographer for many films/videos such as “Le ombre degli angeli” by Igor Maltagliati, “Time Killer” and “Quel giorno in cui lo rapimmo” by Silvia Saraceno.

Among his works as a reporter:

“Lady Truck” (Vanity Fair, 2010), the story of Antonella, a woman committed to a hard work as a truck driver. “Vite Bucate” (Vanity Fair, 2009), a meeting with the everyday life within the Saman recovery community; “I ragazzi del ‘99″ (Venerdì di Repubblica, 2004), about the last veterans of World War I, sent to war at 17; Home Tango” (Glamour, Amica, Gioia) on how tango might be taught at home , “Looking for a saint” (Io Donna) on the relationship between Christianity and Hinduism through the pictures taken at the Tamil community in Palermo.
Luca still  collaborates with Stern, L’Espresso, D di Repubblica, Anna, Kult, Oggi, Gente, Grazia. Among other collaborations: the work for the  Ministry of Finance about monographs on the buildings belonging  to the ministry, AISM (Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association), Lega del Filo d’Oro, MUHKA (Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp).

Among the exhibits:

“Barfly way – the world through a bottle of whiskey”, March 2011, Gallery X3, Palermo (www.barflyway.com)
“Dobi ghat – laundrette. Wash separately “, May 2008, International festival of photography in Rome.
“The Island that does exist ‘”, November 2007, at the exhibition space of the European Parliament in Brussels.
“The Boys of ’99”, September/October 2005, in Palermo within the event “Il Genio di Palermo” and in Rome at “TestaccioLab”
“Italian Migration,”  September 2003, at “Galerie de L’ASSOCIATION NATIONALE DES ICONOGRAPHES”, Paris
“Migramondi (a mirror for differences)”, May 2002, at the Italian Foundation of Photography, Turin
“Sicilia”, May 1999 at the Windsor Public Library, Canada .

He actually lives in Rome, moving frequently between Palermo and Milan (http://www.lucaloiacono.com).

Exhibition of portraits of faces and souls of GLBT Christians “My Spirituality”

Euro Pride Park Rome (Italy), the gardens of Piazza Vittorio, From 1 to June 12, 2011

Artist: Luca Loiacono, Lyrics: Andrea Rubera