Pregnant with all the seasons

Francesca is a farmer. With the aim of valorizing a female approach to both work and ecological issues, this photographic series delves into her poetic and strong world, engaging with her femininity, body, actions and role.

Francesca is a farmer from Tuscany. In today's world dominated by industrial agriculture and mass distribution, sustaining small-scale, organic, non-mechanized, biodiversity-conscious farming is increasingly challenging. Climate change adds to the uncertainties. Yet, Francesca persists, cultivating not just vegetables and flowers, but also a profound sense of wonder, discovery and respect. For her, understanding nature's rhythms and the delicate balance between life and non-life is vital. It's both her livelihood and her philosophy, a way of harmonizing with nature. Between life and death, interdependencies and relationships, signs and messages to interpret, leaving room for love and poetry.
Francesca is also a single mother and a writer; through her popular blog, La Raccontadina, and her published books, she advocates for ecological awareness and sustainable living, opposing the rampant consumerism and extractive approaches practices of modern society.
With the aim of valorizing a female approach to both work and ecological issues, this photographic series delves into her world, engaging with her femininity, challenging societal norms, and questioning a standardized idea of the female body, actions and role.
The project unfolds through three main intertwined visual levels, in order to conceive a multifaceted and fluid narrative: the everyday beauty, hardness and challenges of farm life, the gestures of the body at work sort of following a laborious open air dance, and the botanical products of nature and labor.