Trabalza and Jin, when photography perfectly blends different worlds and styles

Interview with the Umbrian photography duo Trabalza/Jin: «Umbria makes me think of Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”, where there are all these villages where you seem trapped, but then they open up and reveal incredible landscapes».

We could say that four eyes are better than two. This is the case. Ivano Trabalza and Neysa Jin are a couple in life, and they are also a couple behind the camera. He is from Spoleto, she grew up in the United States: apparently two distant and unreachable worlds that met in Campello sul Clitunno, giving life to a perfect fusion, both in private and in the professional field: «He is very practical, self-taught, methodical. I, on the other hand, studied visual arts, fine arts… I come from a more theoretical background. Combining two such different approaches was very interesting» says Neysa. We peeked at their work in Spoleto, and asked them to tell us their story, between fashion photos, a return to film and the pursuit (again) of the perfect shot.

The first question is a must: what is your relationship with Umbria?
Trabalza: I was born and raised in Spoleto. So for me Umbria is home, in the deepest sense of the word.
Jin: Let’s say that now, living here, I really feel at home. Growing up in the United States I didn’t always feel so at peace and in tune with the place where I lived. So yes, we could say that this is an acquired home…

How did Italy and the United States meet?
Trabalza: We met in Campello sul Clitunno. Neysa had been invited to an artist residency organized by the Contemporanea association, together with 4 other American artists, to create sculptures for the Municipality. I was the photographer for the event and that’s where we met.

How much do your different cultures influence the work you do? How do they blend together?
Jin: I would say they blend together. He is very practical, self-taught, methodical. I, on the other hand, studied visual arts, fine arts… I come from a more theoretical background. Combining two such different approaches was very interesting: on a visual level we really complement each other well.

You define your work as “As a study in continuous evolution, a way to record intimacy and light”. What does that mean?
Trabalza: It’s true, it seems like a cliché, but it’s true: you never stop learning. We always experiment with new techniques, we are always researching. Especially in the world of fashion, which is constantly evolving: what is good today, tomorrow is already outdated.

Three characteristics that the perfect photo must have?
Trabalza: For me, the perfect photo does not exist. André Breton said that when the mind, heart and eye are aligned, then the perfect shot arrives. I am still looking for that perfect photo.
Jin: Recently, director Wong Kar-wai spoke of two schools of thought: an image must make you feel, or it must tell you a story. For me, being able to do both is the real challenge.

How do you choose the subject, when it is obviously not imposed?
Jin: Inspirations can come from different inputs: directors, writers, painters or even abstract ideas.
Trabalza: You can take inspiration from other artists, then rework. It is a very personal creative process.

Trivial question: is it easier to photograph nature, things or people?
Trabalza: I like photographing people, it comes more naturally to me. But that doesn’t make it easier.
Jin: My sculptures have always been figurative too, I have always worked with the human body. I have been studying it for years, from different perspectives. If the body is missing, I feel that something is missing.

You often work in fashion photography: how did this interest arise?
Trabalza: Actually, at the beginning I didn’t like fashion, it seemed like a fake environment. I never thought I’d do fashion photography. But with Neysa I got closer to it, and now I like it, it’s creative, even on a technical level.
Jin: It’s always fascinated me: I liked it and I didn’t like it for many reasons. There’s this constant search for beauty… but what kind of beauty? Why is something beautiful or ugly? What do you find in tune with? I like comparing Western concepts with other cultures. Beauty is a concept I can never get tired of. There are also many limits, but limits sometimes stimulate creativity even more.

You went back to shooting on film: why this slightly anachronistic choice?
Trabalza: Yes, we started with film, and I missed the whole manual part: loading the roll, developing it, printing it… that process has always fascinated me, it has a different flavor.
Jin: It’s coming back into fashion now. All the young people are taking up film again. It’s also easier to find than it was five years ago. And then it forces you to slow down, to think more. With digital you run too fast.
Trabalza: It’s true. As Neysa said, Style Magazine also decided to include photos taken with film in the new issue, not all but a good part. It’s nice that it’s coming back. Film and digital are not mutually exclusive: they coexist, and that’s nice.

So you don’t completely agree with Oliviero Toscani, who said that for him, switching from film to digital was natural because the camera is the means and not the end: is it the same for you?
Trabalza: Partly, yes. The camera is a means, of course. But it’s like choosing whether to take a trip by plane or by car: you arrive at the same place, but the route changes everything. Sometimes the way you get there is part of the experience.

Is there a photographer who is – or was – a source of inspiration for you?
Trabalza: There are many. I really like Peter Lindbergh.
Jin: Annie Leibovitz for sure. And then there are Inez and Vinoodh, they are also a couple of photographers, we really like them.

How would you capture the essence of Umbria?
Trabalza: For me, Umbria is home, with its strengths and weaknesses. In terms of landscape, it is wonderful. But it also has a bit of closure, in the connections, in the infrastructures, which is also reflected in the character of the region. But this is part of its identity.
Jin: It makes me think of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino where there are all these villages in which you seem trapped and then they open up and reveal incredible landscapes.