Coraje is the Spanish word for "courage." Coraje is also the name that Nicola Attianese, 32, a photographer from Corbara—or, more accurately, an art portraitist—chose for his mirror-image project, which focuses on the powerful theme of bullying.
Nicola, a deep and attentive gaze on the world around him, told us that he himself was a victim of bullying and, after having held back for a long time the negative emotions that pervaded him, after having subsequently welcomed, gone through, meditated on his pain, he decided to tell it through photography, the art form that investigates reality with an autonomous language and that therefore belongs to him.
The tool through which he can express his personality, but above all listen to his emotions, with the intent of translating them into effective action for those who, like him, have experienced the dark feeling that this sneaky violence generates.
Bullying, a phenomenon that has always existed among adolescents, but which has recently become alarmingly widespread, has marked Nicola's school life, and at a certain point he was no longer afraid to reveal his story: "Suddenly everything became easier. No more shame, no more anger for what had been done to me. I transformed my frustration into courage."
Nicola's project is based on courage. On what those who, like him, have suffered the harmful effects of the phenomenon, are willing to invest, and decide to show their faces and reveal their stories. As part of his project, the artist creates expressive portraits of the latter, accompanying them with the story of their experience, in particular the influence of this on their growth. All the significant shots collected will then go to set up one or more exhibitions with the aim of spreading an important message: "bullying is violence and as such must be eliminated, but to do so you have to know it."
Nicola is firmly convinced that to eliminate the phenomenon, we need knowledge, information and, above all, awareness of its enormous capacity to silently and dangerously collect victims. This is why he believes it is essential to spread true stories, to give an identity to those who suffered it at school age, to make aware those who today expose themselves to danger on a daily basis: the potential victims of tomorrow.
In this perspective, and as the creator of the project, the artist invites anyone who harbors within themselves the shadows of a past characterized by bullying, to free themselves and join his initiative, thus becoming the promoter of an effective campaign of knowledge and awareness through art.
“Coraje is a piece of me, but I hope it can become part of all the people who have suffered this type of violence.”
Taking up Nicola Attianese's appeal, we invite readers to visit the artist's Instagram page, "Thewolphoto", to follow his content and possibly join his initiative by contacting him directly.
Annamaria Cafaro
