LUCY LEVENE | The Spaghetti Tree

The Italian communities of Bedford & Peterborough formed in the 1950s as men were recruited from Southern Italy to supplement labour shortages in the local Brick industry. ‘The Spaghetti Tree’ is titled after the famous April fools day hoax documentary that aired on the BBC in 1957. At the time Britain was so unfamiliar with Italian culture that many were persuaded that spaghetti did indeed grow on trees. These photos were taken between February 2013 and 2014 at Italian community events in both Bedford & Peterborough.

As an outsider to this community I took up the position of community photographer; attending events and providing portraits as mementos. I was interested in demonstrations of ‘community’ and of ‘family’ being played out in front of the camera. .

Caught moments, staged and interrupted portraits as well as interiors are given equal weight, lending the work a disparate, cyclical feel. Throughout the images, elements of the shoot are visible; the studio backdrop, harsh shadows from the flash and awkward perspectives all indicate my presence. The project consists of 48 images, within which the repetition of particular people, themes and motifs aims to draw attention to the means of construction as well as to the passing of time. .

Beyond the various constructs of what it means to be ‘Italian’, the conventions of portraiture and the Italian ideal of 'la Bella Figura', families discompose, revealing their dynamics. Individuals concede, betraying desires, insecurities and nostalgias. Frustrated by the perfect image and its hermetic surface, I have taken these images at just the wrong moment. I am looking for a disruption; ‘a crack that lets the light in’. Using flash and its all-encompassing reveal, I attempt some form of objective democracy. Yet, sitting between construction and documentary, as ever this work is highly controlled and constructed. .

This work pulls together strands from previous projects, mixing documentary with performance and construction and experimenting with various levels of control and direction. An outsider working within this community, I became interested in the tensions between between public and private, formal and informal and in how these disparities relate to construction and accident within photography; the perfect and the imperfect image.

Statue 2, The Sharnbrook Hotel, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Family portrait 1, St Francesca Cabrini Italian Church, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Empty hall 1, St Francesca Cabrini Italian Church, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Woman dancing, Tara & Vito’s wedding, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Christening, St Francesca Cabrini Italian Church, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Fruit, Bedford Charter Market, Bedford, UK 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Young couple dancing, ICA Valentine’s Dance, Peterborough, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Balloons, Tara & Vito’s wedding, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Game boy, Tara & Vito’s wedding, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

The Chirico sisters, St Francesca Cabrini Italian Church, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Girls dancing, ICA Valentine’s Dance, Peterborough, 2014, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Jesus, St Francesca Cabrini Italian Church, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Portrait 1, Prima Generazione Club, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Portrait 2, Prima Generazione Club, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Chair, Giorgio & Anna’s house, Bedford, 2013, from the series The Spaghetti Tree

Two girls, ICA Valentine’s Dance, Peterborough, 2014, from the series The Spaghetti Tree