It has been 60 years since Pier Paolo Pasolini embarked on his journey across Italy to capture the public’s views on sexuality, love, and morality. In a contemporary echo of this endeavor, Franco-Dominican photographer Karla Hiraldo Voleau retraces the footsteps of the renowned poet, capturing the voices of today’s youth in her project “Frammenti.” Through interviews and portraits, she endeavors to uncover the thoughts and identities of a generation navigating a rapidly changing world.
Exploring Contemporary Youth Through Photography
Karla Hiraldo Voleau’s project « Frammenti » was born from the inspiration she found in Pasolini’s “Comizi d’Amore.” Intrigued by the radical approach of traveling throughout the country to ask delicate questions about sexuality and morality, Voleau sought to create a similar dialogue with today’s youth—the Generation Z. Her objective is to understand how young people today discuss love, relationships, and gender in a world vastly different from that of the 1960s.
One compelling aspect of her interactions with the youth is their readiness to share and discuss their lives openly, despite the impression that such conversations are not part of their regular dialogue. This generation, having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, movements like #MeToo, and the rise of new political ideologies, presents a unique perspective filled with both apprehension and hope.
Insights into Young Voices
Voleau’s findings reflect that expressions of life experiences between young men and women are not significantly different in terms of gender but rather dependent on maturity level and personal challenges. Interestingly, her observation also notes that girls are more accustomed to being photographed, likely due to social media influences, making them more aware of their angles and poses compared to boys.
The project also uncovers regional diversity through its widespread geographical reach. Traveling from Sardinia to Rome, Veneto, and Emilia Romagna, Voleau discovered that social class disparities were more prominent than regional differences. However, she emphasizes that she is still in the early stages of her work, making it premature to draw definitive conclusions.
The Impact of Modern Dialogues
Karla Hiraldo Voleau plans to continue and expand « Frammenti » to all 20 Italian regions, believing that truly capturing the variety of young voices requires such a comprehensive approach. She collaborates with various high schools across these regions, seeking regional and institutional support to cover travel and production costs. Her vision is to turn « Frammenti » into a broader platform for dialogue through events, conferences, and educational workshops—a dream she passionately pursues.
The youths she has engaged with display a remarkable clarity about the challenges they face. They are vocal about issues such as anxiety, an uncertain future, gender questions, and emotional awareness. Despite their criticisms of social media, none of the 128 adolescents interviewed could envision a future without their phones—an insightful testament to their deeply intertwined digital reality.
Voleau’s work offers more than a snapshot of the modern youth’s mind; it provides a lens into a generation poised between tradition and change, emphasizing the power of inquiry and understanding in shaping future narratives. Her project underscores the importance of listening to young voices, recognizing their resilience, and valuing their unique perspectives in an ever-evolving social landscape.