Keilahn Aio

Dates

2018 - Ongoing
Author

Anna Giuntini
Location Milan, Italy

Landscapes and nature are to me means to understand the world and our lives. Through tuscan details -which I grew up with- and namibian landscapes -which I felt really close and familiar- I dig in childhood memories to decypher how remembrance works.

"Keilahn Aio" literally means "the other side of yesterday" , a sort of "Once upon a time", and comes from the island of Pohnpei, in the Pacific Oceans.

To me, Keilahn Aio, is an undefined place in time, something that is beneath the surface of our everyday life, covered with layers of moments. Sometimes it powerfully emerges and sends shivers down my spine. I edit my pictures in order to understand how our brain works, why some songs, colours or smells can bring us in another place or another time; how my perception of the world is influenced by my memories, by what I've lived through. Maybe the one who moves away from her/his hometown is sentenced to a lifelong search for Home everywhere she/he goes. I eventually discovered the power of surrending to nostalgia.

I started working on this project a few months ago, but most pictures date back in 2018. It is an ongoing project and I'm sharing the process through a dedicated newsletter, along with inspirations and notes; a sort of bird eye view on my artistic research.

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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The Omaruru river flows underground. You can tell it's there because of the lower temperature, even if you don't see it. In an old film I found some family photos. I wasn't born yet, but I know it's ours, because I recognise the places.

© Anna Giuntini - Salt fields close-up. Surreal colours and textures, reminding me of my mother's jewels

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Salt fields close-up. Surreal colours and textures, reminding me of my mother's jewels

© Anna Giuntini - Low water, crunchy ground, pale colours. The touch of a dazzling dream or my first memories of the sea?

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Low water, crunchy ground, pale colours. The touch of a dazzling dream or my first memories of the sea?

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Glimps of light, glares everywhere. From the sunset sky after a summer storm in my hometown to randomly laid silver leaf in one of my artwork. Like layers of moments that hide precious memories

© Anna Giuntini - And then clouds, roaring clouds, messy clouds. Covering everything even if they can't overcome the light.

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And then clouds, roaring clouds, messy clouds. Covering everything even if they can't overcome the light.

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Texture is essential to fix a memory in your mind. A tree and a wall may share the same touch even if thousand of kilometers apart.

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Wall covering falls to pieces in an abandoned town. The raw concrete, once adorned with flowers, is now bare and cold, but it still holds on to his glorious past.

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Anyway, sometimes one searches for treasures and for stories to tell, but can't find anything. Not all that glitters is gold, but gold may lay inbetween.

© Anna Giuntini - Like a sandstorm, when the sun shines above it and the colour of dust is all you can see

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Like a sandstorm, when the sun shines above it and the colour of dust is all you can see

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Trees and roads almost disappear in the sandy fog, but you still feel their strong presence assuring you that everything will be allright

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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A field. Where am I? Am I down south, in Namibia, or am I just outside the house in Tuscany watching my dad in the garden?Maybe I'm in both places at the same time.

© Anna Giuntini - Image from the Keilahn Aio photography project

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Those trees were much smaller when I was little, but I haven't grown up the same. I'll keep remembering as much as I can, at least until I'll be seeing in the distance between their branches.

© Anna Giuntini - The fear of forgetting has got a hold on me. One can't confine the whole sky in a frame.

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The fear of forgetting has got a hold on me. One can't confine the whole sky in a frame.