Hi, Emil! Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Please introduce yourself to our  readers!

Hello! Thank you for inviting me, I am an Argentinian-born and London-based photographer. Before moving to the UK, I lived in Paris, where I obtained an MSc in Computer Graphics at Université Pierre et Marie Curie in 2010. While completing my science degree, I started taking portraits as a self-taught photographer. I practised for ten years before beginning my Photography MA at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 2021. My practice is concerned with body politics and gender, representation and visibility of dissident identities. My work embodies both documentary and activist notions.

First of all, congratulations on your exhibition during Peckham 24! The location space was incredible! What was your reasoning behind selecting this particular space for your exhibition? Did the space have significance to you and your body of work 'An Unending Sunday Morning'? 

Thank you so much! I didn't choose it myself, the organisers of the festival contacted me, and they proposed to me to have my show there. I think it was the perfect location to show this series. The venue is a Victorian house converted into a gallery space. And one of the topics of this body of work is the relationship between the private and public space and how the pandemic affected our relationship with our homes. For four months, I've photographed trans people outside their homes, and this show was a way of bringing everyone inside a house. And I find that significant.

What made you decide after so long being a self taught photographer, to go back into education?

This idea came progressively. I have a Masters in Computer Science, and I've practised photography for many years but always considered it a hobby. When I moved from Paris to London, I was going through a hard time after a breakup, and I was dealing with depression. I joined a couple of short courses at Central St Martins because I wanted to use their darkroom. Being in the darkroom was the only thing I could do back then to deal with how depressed I was. 

But soon, I realised I liked being in that academic environment, and I wanted to learn more about the theory and how to be an artist and not just an amateur photographer. So I've decided to apply for a MA at the RCA, and they accepted me. I'm incredibly grateful for this journey.

Was undergoing your Masters, everything you hoped it would be? Did you face any challenges along the way? 

I think it surpassed my expectations. 

I joined the RCA thinking I will just do a course for myself. I didn't have much of a photography career project. I wanted to do it because I enjoy learning, and I like to improve myself.

I faced different challenges (we all do, right?) the first year, I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to take. I've done portraits since I started photography, but when I joined the RCA during the first year, I was trying to move away from portraiture. I wanted to experiment and try different topics. But eventually, I've accepted that photographing people is what I prefer. And during my second year, the pandemic started, I've decided to take a leave of absence in March 2020 and come back in March 2021 to finish my degree, and it was the best decision for me.

I took time to reflect on my work, save money, and then shot this body of work during the lockdown, which I used for my graduation. Overall my experience at the RCA was very positive and I'm very grateful, particularly to the technicians, tutors, and colleagues. 

I had a wonderful time

Why did you decide to use a large format camera to document your subjects in the frame?

Because the result looks gorgeous! 

I used to work with medium format cameras, I used a large-format camera once but only for wet plate collodion, and I didn't have much equipment. But with the facilities and the resources at the RCA, I borrowed a large format camera, lenses and all the equipment, and since I started shooting with large format, I cannot look back. I've tried to use medium-format cameras again, but I find everything very small, and I don't like it anymore.

And it is not only about the definition. I love how ceremonial, slow and complex the process is. I love that I don't see what I'm photographing when I take the picture and that I have to find a way to dialogue with my subjects so they don't move while still looking natural. 

No other format gives you this experience.

In your project 'An Unending Sunday Morning', you have produced beautiful, intimate black and white portraits. What was your thought process behind using black and white film instead of colour? 

Most of the choices I made for this project were covid choices. Like cycling to avoid public transport or photographing people outside their homes to prevent closed environments. Using B&W was also a covid choice. I wanted to shoot in colour, but the school was closed so I couldn't develop colour film. I went for B&W because I don't need to rely on anyone. I can develop the films in my kitchen.

'An Unending Sunday Morning’

There are many powerful motifs and layers within your body of work. How important is it for photographers and platforms to form an unbiased perspective when documenting the diversity of the Trans community?

We must be the ones who tell our stories.  Most of the representation we have from the past was created by cis people. And the cis gaze did a lot of harm to our community. In many cases, the result was disastrous and trans people were represented negatively. Or the other outcome was having a sort of "empowering" method of portraying trans people but still with an intense focus on the otherness.

I just wish my photography shows the reality of what I see in my community. That trans people are like everyone else. They are beautiful and complex human beings who have strong stories to tell.

And finally, congratulations on your beautiful book! Are there any copies left? And do you have any plans to create a new book?

Thank you! 

The book is sold out. I absolutely enjoyed working on that book, and it was the first time for me. Yes, I want to do more books. Hopefully, next time I will have more resources to make something more significant and to print more copies.

…one of the topics of this body of work is the relationship between the private and public space and how the pandemic affected our relationship with our homes.

Emil Lombardo

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