Francesco Lusa, The Tree Which Has Been Struck 3 Times by Lightning, 2022

Originally started as a mere wandering around an exotic location, the project had a turning point when I portrayed a gentleman cleaning an empty parking lot between a lake and a vast industrial area. That ecstatic moment allowed me to realize the importance of what was happening and pushed me to start a historical and aesthetic research that lasted about six years. The Tree Which Has Been Struck 3 Times by Lightning is a story about Lithuania narrated by a non-lithuanian photographer. During the production of this work I was interested in several topics such as the industrialization process during the Soviet occupation that led to the urban and social development of the territory itself, the economic crisis after the nation’s independence, the crime that marked the history of the area in the 90s and the wounds left by Russian imperialism to the people who have experienced it firsthand. I was also deeply fascinated by the confrontation / clash between generations, not too distant in terms of time but profoundly different in desires and hopes for their future, the strength that accompanies young people in the challenge of life and their unconscious naturalness that transmits vitality even in the darkest moments. The curiosity and the desire to find something I could relate to in a place so far from where I come, guided me through the path. Working on this project has been a way to approach a culture that did not belong to me but became an integral part of my existence.

– Francesco Lusa