We Were Here
photography, photojournalism, story through photos
Recently, I went to Matera, Italy, one of the oldest inhabited cities in Europe. Matera is known for its beautiful stone structure and cave-like dwellings. It is known as Sassi di Matera, which directly translates to Matera stones. Visiting Matera was like going back in time and seeing these prehistoric structures that have survived for millenniums. I wanted to capture the essence of Matera’s rich history and the time it has stood on this Earth. So much time has passed, so many people have come and gone, but Matera remains solid and carries the presence of all the people who have been here.
I scaled a mountain to find the city's best viewpoints, and during that journey, I came across markings on a wooden post of a bridge I needed to cross to get to the other side of the mountain. These markings were left by people eager to etch their names into Matera's history, using a variety of colorful markers to ensure the world would remember their presence. Upon clambering up the mountain, I found all sorts of caves that were weathered and had clearly been there for a very long time. I could see people’s scrawlings on the cave walls, made with sharp objects. No one dared to taint the cave with any sort of ink. I could also feel the soft dirt in the cave that kept every imprint of a person who entered; footprints are the earliest visible evidence of something’s presence. At the top of the viewpoint, I captured the first image, which is of Matera’s raw stone structure, seemingly untouched by humanity. This is how I see Matera at the beginning of time, seemingly untouched by humanity. My initial images show the transition from the past to the present, portraying the evolution from antiquity to modernity. Therefore, to conclude, I wanted to show the modern-day influence on Matera and how it’s evolved to become a lively tourist destination. Walking along the streets, I came by this one door that was so colorfully marked up by different artists’ graffiti and assortments of stickers and signs pasted to represent all sorts of people. All of these seemed like very modern-day markings. I captured the conclusion of my story at a tourist spot where many people gathered to take iconic Matera pictures. This is my evolution of “We Were Here”; a story of an old city that becomes new with all the different influences of people who have come and gone. I concluded my story at a bustling tourist spot, where masses of tourists gathered to capture iconic images of Matera. This is the essence of “We Were Here”: a story of an ancient city reinvented through the diverse influences of those who have traversed its streets, leaving their marks behind as they came and went.
