Shortlisted, Sony World Photography Awards 2021 (Portrait Category)
Published in D La Repubblica
This work was born out of a feeling of separation that quarantine had induced, both for myself as a social photographer and for cosplayers. Sailor Moon and her real life persona, the quirky schoolgirl Usagi, is a cult character created by Japanese manga artist Naoko Takeuchi in the 1990s. Passionate cosplayers and fans of the manga often portray their very personal rendition of Usagi at comicons and gatherings. Yet in the long summer of post-pandemic 2020, where the ‘new normal’ had taken hold, the very unique events for these very unique cosplayers had been called off.
How would the cosplay community adapt to an extended period without the massive gatherings of like minded people? This question prompted me to connect with Sailor Moons around the world and capture them in their homes. Instead of my usual camera, I took to my laptop and the lens of Zoom video-calls to reveal a global portrait of a hidden, personal world caught between reality and dreams.