RAPHAEL MAZZUCCO
“The Grass Roots 2023 collection is truly about the raw beauty and the natural colours of the environments; whether they are sepia or bright they bring me back to another time. The world is moving on so far, so quickly, but I feel like these photos will be timeless, capturing a moment in time and a living landscape that I’ve had the joy of experiencing and being a part of. The titles for this collection were chosen with the words of the tribal people that we met in the Amazon. “The memory of that trip which stands out the most to me is being on a boat in the middle of nowhere going down the river, experiencing the beautiful nature and visiting little towns along the way. Seeing and experiencing the traditional lifestyle of native Americans existing in today’s world is an extraordinary pleasure.” Raphael totally immerses himself in the part of the world he’s visiting, and the people who live there, which hugely influences his work. “The trip to Brazil lasted 27 days, travelling on a boat going down to the Rio Negro”, remembers Raphael. “Shooting is always very unpredictable, and you need to allow yourself a lot of time to get what you need”. Raphael enjoys the intimacy of his location shoots, and working with a small team, which enables him to get much closer to the environment and its people.
Following a much-anticipated return to the UK with his 2022 solo exhibition Grass Roots at The ICC Birmingham, we return our focus to the prodigious Raphael Mazzucco with much excitement for Grass Roots Volume 2, a collection well worth the year-long wait. Grass Roots took its foundation from the time Raphael spent during lockdown revisiting his personal photography archives, namely of his first shoot of Africa with Vogue Greece. Raphael was moved by the imagery to return to the collage style of his early original works featuring organic natural imagery, animals and indigenous subjects in tones that mimic their environments. Originally created in sepia tones representing the grasslands of the Massai Mara, Grass Roots volume 2 is further enlivened with the warm and vivid tones of the Amazon, presenting imagery from his 27-day voyage along the Rio Negro in northern Brazil. The new colour palette is a natural development of the Grass Roots collection, featuring rich and vibrant tones to mirror the Brazilian culture witnessed by Raphael on his expedition through the country. “The new works have moved forward in a much more colourful and vibrant way,” explains Raphael. “I am using rich tones of orange, red, blue and yellow, reflecting the vibrant Brazilian culture I saw on my trip.”
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