As of 1 January 2017, there were 5,047,028 foreign nationals resident in the country of Italy. This amounted to 8.2% of the country's population, out of which 552,614 individuals identified as persons of South Asian descent (individuals who were citizens of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka). There are many visual elements specific to these cultures, including vivid colours, abundant jewellery, and rich fabrics. This project aims to visualise the South Asian immigrant experience in Rome in a highly stylized aesthetic. The project entailed connecting with and photographing other first-generation immigrant students studying in Rome to document them.

Gritty, avant-garde, yet nostalgic portraits of the immigrant youth in front of ancient monuments of glory, juxtaposed with the feminine youth contrasted with the masculine ancient. The balance between the spectrums of time and gender, of the colourful and the faded, forms the conceptual and aesthetic theme of “Giovani a Roma.”

Featuring- Sahithi (23) from Telangana, India,

Mehak (29) from Lahore, Pakistan,

and Jasil Iqbal (26) from Colombo, Sri Lanka