Bettina Pittaluga

THE EYE OF

ANDREA
“The way I felt that autumn morning was unlike anything I had experienced before. I knew there was no way back to the slope I'd just descended. There was a sense of distress at first, but I soon realised that the only way forward was ahead, and that particular feeling was incredible.
This journey has allowed me to embrace life in an entirely new way. I’ve come to accept my life and everything that comes with it. I was used to people telling me I was strong, but in truth, I believe I was resilient.”

SASSI
“Much like how nacre slowly shapes pearls through hardship, resilience turns pain into inner strength and richness.”

LUCREZIA
« Tous mes adieux sont faits. Tant de départs
m’ont lentement formé dès mon enfance.
Mais je reviens encore, je recommence,
ce franc retour libère mon regard.

Ce qui me reste, c’est de le remplir,
et ma joie toujours impénitente
d’avoir aimé des choses ressemblantes
à ces absences qui nous font agir. »

Poem extracted from the Vergers collection by Rainer Maria Rilke.

LUCREZIA
“I move in step with my resilience, though I do so unconsciously. This is possibly due to a numbed conscience. Is this really resilience, or is it a motion I could bind to my waist or arms, something I might lose in the blink of an eye, blinding me? It feels like resilience is connected to the missed encounters, those moments where we hesitated instead of acting, lacking the courage to seize them.
That’s why I turn to my dreams—a realm of endless possibilities, a space for second chances for those missed connections. It’s a refuge for forgetting, a place where a voice escapes our memory. When I think of resilience,
I picture a child who interprets the silence of their room as a “rustle”, like the sound we hear when holding a shell to our ear—a fullness within emptiness, where silence becomes noise. The meaning of “there is” shifts.
In the absolute void, the one that predates creation, a sound, perhaps muffled, emerges from what appears to be empty. Isn’t that precisely what “there is” in resilience?”

MATY
“It’s about not giving up! Work your way through uncertainty. I remember when I was dreaming of being where I am today. It’s been a long journey but it never felt like a burden. It’s hard to keep a dream alive but resilience helps to nourish it. Looking back, everything just kind of fell into place.”

MARIANNE
“Every dream holds a spark of light, a glimpse of what could be. As a photographer and artist, I dive into that light, recreating ancestral hairstyles through Photobooth self-portraits. Each image tells a story of resilience and a profound connection to our roots.
These portraits honour our traditions and the strength of our ancestors. Resilience, in that sense, becomes the bridge between past and present, a reminder that no matter the challenges, we carry the power of our heritage and an endless capacity to dream and create.”