Portraits in Black is a collaborative photography project\u00a0by Italian photographers\u00a0Marco Ambrosi<\/a>,\u00a0Matteo Danesin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Aldo Sodoma<\/a>. The project was initiated in 2003 with the aim of showing the real life of the\u00a0Nigerian and Ghanaian Pentecostal communities residing in Verona, Italy. Having been exhibited in several countries including\u00a0Spain, France, United States, Greece, China, Germany, UK, Portugal, Nigeria and Senegal, the show was\u00a0accompanied by a catalogue showcasing the images and three essays about photography, Pentecostalism<\/a> and immigration.<\/p>\n

“We photographers wanted to use our art as a tool to discover, describe and possibly change reality.
\nAfter two years we opened a major exhibition of over one hundred large format images at the International Centre Scavi Scaligeri in Verona and later at the Museo del Santo in Padua.\u00a0Subject were different Pentecostal communities composed by people from Nigeria and Ghana, resident in Verona.” – says Marco Ambrosi<\/p>\n

All the photographers have contributed in expressing their point of view\u00a0by exploring a different aspect of life of these communities. While Ambrosi\u00a0visited several churches with his portable studio taking portraits of people dressed in sumptuous feast, Matteo Danesin captured images of social gatherings including ritual ceremonies, parties and other meetings.\u00a0Aldo Sodoma was welcomed into the homes and workplaces of these African communities, enabling him to explore their ‘real world’.<\/p>\n