Gaia Squarci

Photographer

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Location: New York

Nationality: Italian

Biography: Gaia Squarci, 1988, is a photographer and videographer who divides her time between Milan and New York, where she teaches Digital Storytelling at ICP. Gaia is a contributor of Prospekt, an IWMF fellow and National Geographic grantee. With a... MORE

From the Series: Presence Touri...ximity to populated areas. 2013

From the Series: Presence

Tourists visit one of Etna's craters, close to Rifugio Sapienza. Sicily, Italy. Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, and classified as a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being especially worthy of study because if its history of destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas. 2013

From the Series: Mars On Earth ...lanet. Hawaii, Big Island. 2015

From the Series: Mars On Earth

A landscape whose ground looks similar to the one that can be found on planet Mars is photographed on volcano Mauna Kea. At the same time this picture was taken, on another volcano of the island, Mauna Loa, a NASA-financed human performance study called (HI-SEAS) was taking place, aimed at monitoring the psychological response of human beings in condition of isolation in an unearthly environment, in perspective of the launch of scientific trips to Mars involving the presence of human beings of the planet. Hawaii, Big Island. 2015

From the Series: Mars On Earth ...a Kea. Hawaii, Big Island. 2015

From the Series: Mars On Earth

A giant telescope is photographed on volcano Mauna Kea. Hawaii, Big Island. 2015

From the Series: Mars On Earth ...mand this kind of mission. 2015

From the Series: Mars On Earth

Martha Lenio, commander of the NASA human performance study Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), is portrayed wearing a spacesuit outside of the dome where she spent eight months of confinement together with other five researchers in the crater of the volcano Mauna Loa, Hawaii, Big Island. The purpose of the mission is to monitor the psychological response of human beings in condition of isolation in an unearthly environment, in perspective of the launch of scientific trips to Mars involving the presence of human beings of the planet. Lenio is the first woman ever in NASA history to command this kind of mission. 2015

From the Series: Presence Follo...hristian elements. Mexico, 2016

From the Series: Presence

Followers of Antonio Analco, “tiempero” of Santiago Xalitzintla, Puebla, rest after a four-hour hike to a sacred rock called “Ombligo” of volcano Popocatepetl. “Tiemperos" are Mexican shamans who are thought to be able to establish a dialogue with the forces of nature, and they guide the communities on the volcanoes during the performance of rituals that mix prehispanic and christian elements. Mexico, 2016

Early morning at Humayun's Tomb. Delhi, 2019

Dharavi. Mumbai, India. 2019

Rice Harvest in Haryana, India. 2019

Passenger on a Delhi-Jaipur train. India, 21019

Shakespeare & Company actre... Squarci for the New York Times

Shakespeare & Company actress Dara Brown, 22, from Chicago, IL, is portrayed backstage before the companyâ€™s performance of Hamlet in the auditorium of the Trevor Day School in Harlem, New York City, during a tour that sees the company perform in schools in different sates, bringing Shakespeareâ€™s plays to over 20,000 students. Brown plays Horatio and Polonius. May 10, 2019. Gaia Squarci for the New York Times

Blind poet Steve Cannon&#39...uot;. New York, April 15, 2014.

Blind poet Steve Cannon's hands are photographed at A Gathering of the Tribes, a gallery and salon housed in a building he had bought in 1980 and he moved from in 2014. The wall, a personal gift to Cannon, is an art piece by the artist David Hammons, called "Flight Fantasy". New York, April 15, 2014.

Actress Abbey Watt is seen on a...er founder Judith Malina. 2015.

Actress Abbey Watt is seen on a bus in New Jersey, getting back to New York City after a visit to Living Theater founder Judith Malina. 2015.

Men gather around a car close t...rkish border. January 08, 2015.

Men gather around a car close to the Iranian-Turkish border. January 08, 2015.

Bielmonte, Italy. 2018.

Lorena, Palenque. Mexico. 2016

A child is photographed during ...these with speaking roles. 2016

A child is photographed during the ceremony of the Crucifixion of Jesus for the Holy Week celebrations in Iztapalapa, Mexico. In Mexico many communities stage processions for Good Friday. The Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa holds the largest and most elaborate of these, with up to 5,000 people participating and 150 of these with speaking roles. 2016

Mecox Beach. Bridgehampton, Long Island, United States, 2019.

A model in the backstage of Mar...hion show. New York City, 2016.

A model in the backstage of Marc Jacob's fashion show. New York City, 2016.

Corsica, France. 2017.

From the Series: Springfall. 20...and the Covid19 Visual Project.

From the Series: Springfall. 2020.

Theodore. East River Park, New York City. Theodore might be 7 or 8 years old. I’d like to be able to see this crisis through his eyes for a moment. To guess which blurry memories, perhaps a couple of sharp moments, will stay with him in his adult life. Theodore plays in silence on a tree that seems to be carved around him. When I start shooting he closes his eyes and stops moving for a while. I wonder how he imagines the photograph in his head, at the very moment it’s taken.

The production of this photograph has been supported by Cortona On the Move and the Covid19 Visual Project.

From the Series: Springfall. 20...national Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall. 2020.

“I want to be in control. I feel like I can’t control anything in my life right now” a friend wrote to me the other day. I thought about it and realized I have the opposite problem. I have full control over the smallest world I’ve ever lived in. Whatever I do, it’s on my terms.

The production of this photograph has been supported by the International Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall. 2020.

Walking to get groceries on the phone with my mother in the afternoon, today I saw a black hole where my corner Deli used to be. José stood on the sidewalk, looking at the building and far away at the same time Lately his Dominican music radio had been replaced by the sound of news in Spanish, talking about New York. I remember thinking that I was happy his business didn’t have to close. Then I didn’t want this to come to me but it did: this is the second fire on my street in less than a week. Could desperation be pushing people to collect insurance money? How badly compromised is the business of those who can keep working? My mind kept running in circles as I felt ashamed to be formulating those thoughts.

The production of this photograph has been supported by the International Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall. 2020.

What strikes me is not the emptiness, it’s the silence. I can hear the sound of a car and a couple of bikers go by, in the same place where road works, food cart generators, shouting preachers, and hundreds of engines and thousands of steps would drill my ears every day. That’s why we all wear headphones in New York. I don’t need them today.

The production of this photograph has been supported by Cortona On the Move and the Covid19 Visual Project

From the Series: Springfall. 2020.

Melonie and Trevelon matched on Bumble last week, Sunday night at 11pm. They talked on the phone for 30 minutes. Then video called for 30 minutes. Melonie smiles. “I spray him down and make him wash his face and hands every time he comes into my house. Being with him feels natural, he makes me forget all that's happening in the world right now. I never thought I would connect so organically to someone during a world crisis.”

The production of this photograph has been supported by the International Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall.202...national Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall.2020.

Across the street from the window someone is playing If You Leave Me Now, Chicago. It’s the kind of song that used to wake me up on Sunday mornings when my father was making eggs. It flies me into a glittery world I’ve never lived, as I imagine my parents as new lovers in their 20s. It’s the kind of song that couldn’t be farther away from my present reality, and maybe because of that I’m strangely happy to hear it sneak into my ears.

The production of this photograph has been supported by the International Center of Photography

From the Series: Springfall.202...and the Covid19 Visual Project

From the Series: Springfall.2020.

Moments of crisis strip us naked, and whether we’re spending time alone or living with others, there’s nowhere to hide. I’ve been forced to ask myself what my priorities are, I heard from people I would have never thought I would talk to again. I’m not hearing the familiar howl of the City that’s always calling for more. After many balloons popped at once, I asked myself what’s my daily life made of. My life is made of people I’m good at choosing. But there’s a lot of noise all around, noise that normally keeps me from thinking clearly, from finding my rhythm. Today I put music on and took a long shower. I spent it wondering what New York will feel like after this, knowing that she, as well, won’t certainly be the same.

The production of this photograph has been supported by Cortona On the Move and the Covid19 Visual Project

From the Series: Springfall.2020.

What keeps my mind awake is the awareness that I’m living history firsthand, witnessing humanity’s reactions as a scientist and a guinea pig at once. It’s hard to predict the long-term consequences of unfolding events, but in this case, aside from the glaring tragedy linked to the loss of lives and the economic downfall, I wonder if anything good will come of this. Moments of crisis strip us naked, and whether we’re spending time alone or living with others, there’s nowhere to hide.

The production of this photograph has been supported by the International Center of Photography