Quotes by
Paolo Pellegrin

I'm more interested in a photography that is 'unfinished'— a photography that is suggestive and can trigger a conversation or dialogue. There are pictures that are closed, finished, to which there is no way in.

We photographers live in a constant state of schizophrenia because of what we see, what we feel and what we have to overcome.

… I would recommend working to become a more developed and informed individual, a more knowledgeable and engaged citizen. This will translate into a deeper more complex understanding of the world around you, and ultimately into richer and more meaningful photography.

Photography is much like writing to me. It’s a voice.

In my work, I present questions and concerns. [It’s] the opportunity to put a system of antibodies into circulation, without any pretense of making the world a better place, but to start a conversation with the world.

I believe photography – like many other things one does in life – is the exact expression of who one is at a given moment: every time you compose and release the shutter you give voice to your thoughts and opinions of the world around you. So other than the obvious patience (photography is a complex medium, a voice which requires time to develop) and perseverance and the necessary humility when dealing with others, I would recommend working to become a more developed and informed individual, a more knowledgeable and engaged citizen. This will translate into a deeper more complex understanding of the world around you, and ultimately into a richer and more meaningful photography.

I choose the abstraction of black and white because it helps convey symbols and ultimately meaning. By removing visual information, you have the possibility of skipping a part and going directly where you want to go!

In my work, I'm often intruding in extreme and delicate circumstances, so every time I have to push myself to actually shoot and work. I do it because I think there is a reason for it, to send a signal to others. That's what drives me!

I go with the eyes of a foreigner... trying to find relationships, to understand, to create a dialogue.

It sometimes happens that you just know... You have a feeling that things are coinciding, and that they operate and work on a number of levels—obviously visual aesthetics, but also content and narrative in terms of the bigger picture. When document and metaphor come together.

You want to be more vulnerable because that’s how your photography becomes more human. In a sense you want to become a totally blank canvas so the subject or situation reflects him or itself upon you.

..the abstraction of black and white allows photography to speak in more symbolic terms. Color, sometimes, is all too real.

I believe photography – like many other things one does in life – is the exact expression of who you are at a given moment.

The connection, that's what's important - that through this medium we can, perhaps, understand and touch each other.

I have a hard time being a neutral spectator and don't know if I even want to be one. You really aren't distanced from what you're seeing, because you're there as it's happening. At the same time you're there with a function, however imperfect the function may be. Part of this function is to be a witness and to communicate!