Sa Pippia

Sa Pippia (translated roughly as ‘Little Girl’) is a photographic exploration of Em Dessi-Makin’s Sardinian heritage. Over the course of the winter months that turned 2019 into 2020 Em travelled clockwise from Burcei, through Cagliari, San Sperate and Cabras, taking photos of people and objects that she felt represented ‘home’. The images are a collection of captured moments of serenity: plants, views, traditional clothing and pauses for reflection at carnival celebrations. The calm aesthetic of the images shot on a Mamiya RZ67 display the slow pace of life on the Mediterranean island – this was further emphasised through the use of hand development, to fully realise the therapeutic nature of the personal project. Em endeavoured to create a catalogue of work that she felt truly embodied the tranquillity and sense of community she experienced as a child travelling back and forth between London and San Sperate.