Tenersi stretto

  • Dates
    2021 - 2025
  • Author
  • Topics Daily Life, Documentary, Portrait
  • Location Switzerland, Switzerland

Tenersi stretto is an intimate photographic project capturing a personal experience with Alzheimer's disease through the lens of my paternal Italian grandparents, Gianni and Nella, both affected by it in their own way.

tenersi stretto is an intimate documentary photographic work, rooted in my personal experience
of Alzheimer’s disease through the lens of my two Italian paternal grandparents, Gianni and Nella,
both of whom were affected by the illness in their own ways and have since passed away.

Blending poetry and tenderness, I tell this story in two chapters: testa dura, about my nonno,
and rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera, about my nonna. It is the narrative of our relationship
deteriorating with time and forgetfulness, conveyed through a mix of words (letters and dialogues),
images (portraits, staged scenes, self-portraits...), and other techniques (archival manipulation
and collage).

My approach navigates between truth and the surreal, aiming at times to better capture the full scope of how identity and familial bonds are disrupted by this absurd and disorienting illness.
It is a journey through past, present, and childhood — an attempt to show how Alzheimer’s can suddenly unravel long-standing family dynamics.

But tenersi stretto is also, and above all, about three inner worlds coming together, in the hope
of defying the illness’s harmful effects — with sensitivity and a touch of humour — to, as
the title suggests, hold close whatever is still possible.

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Casa, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Casa, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Nonno Gianni, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - Nonno Gianni, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Chouette, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - Chouette, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - La pêche #2, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - La pêche #2, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Partie de memory, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - Partie de memory, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - La pêche #1, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - La pêche #1, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Autoportraits Nonno Gianni, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021
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©LisaBertoldi - Autoportraits Nonno Gianni, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2021

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Rencontre, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Rencontre, (testa dura), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Matrimonio, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023
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©LisaBertoldi - Matrimonio, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Alliances, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2024
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©LisaBertoldi - Alliances, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2024

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Verso i girasolli, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Verso i girasolli, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Attachées ensemble, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022-2023-2024
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©LisaBertoldi - Attachées ensemble, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022-2023-2024

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Petite cuillère, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Petite cuillère, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Perruche, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Perruche, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Cuisine, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023
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©LisaBertoldi - Cuisine, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Semainier, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023
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©LisaBertoldi - Semainier, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Électrodes de boutons, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022
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©LisaBertoldi - Électrodes de boutons, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Nonna a la tête dans les nuages parfois, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023
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©LisaBertoldi - Nonna a la tête dans les nuages parfois, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2023

© Lisa Bertoldi - ©LisaBertoldi - Garder proche, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022-2024
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©LisaBertoldi - Garder proche, (rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera), from Tenersi stretto, 2022-2024