SOULFUL HUMANS: Riccardo Leli - Technician of Urban Waste - Photographer

Monday, April 2, 2012

Riccardo Leli - Technician of Urban Waste - Photographer - San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy

Riccardo Leli - photo by Alessandra Straccia

Riccardo Leli: "Il Viaggio non finische mai - The Journey never ends"

Vele - Image courtesy: Riccardo Leli

BPP: Identity: Who are you? And who you really are?

Riccardo Leli: First thank to BPP and Ismini for this great opportunity.

My name is Riccardo Leli, I am 52 years old and Ilive in Italy in a seaside town called San Benedetto del Tronto.

I'm a technician of urban waste but I worked for a long time at sewage.

This is my real job, thanks to which I can physically support me and my family.

Riccardo Leli - photo by Sabine Meyer

I am married and have two children - now adults - who are about to finish their studies

I like my job but I always felt within me an interest in other activities that do not give me any income, but make me feel more alive.

As a boy I studied music and played the accordion and I feel I have been wrong to abandon the art of music. But the form of expression that I really feel best and that helps me to communicate with others is photography. I shoot for many years, but only recently I have managed to align my heart and my sight.

There was a time when almost magically I had the feeling that my images expressed what I felt, what I really was.

From the album "Casolare"

One of Riccardo Leli's first shootings

I was inside myself, like old tanks for the storage of fuel. On the walls were apertures, irregular windows, from which came an extraordinary light that was projected on the interior walls. There was a magical atmosphere and I could see through those windows also the outside world.

That was me, with my character, my fears. But let the pictures speak for me.

I call these photos "Inside - Outside Me" and they show exactly what I felt at the moment:

Inside - Outside Me by Riccardo Leli:

III

My goal is to try to make sense of my life, but still I feel I haven't succeeded in something in particular. I would like to leave a good memory behind me for the shake of my children; I want this a lot.

Currently my photos are much appreciated and thanks to this, I have the opportunity to meet many creative people and artists that help me to grow as a human being.

Riccardo Leli - photo by Alessandro Paddeu

"Casolare" - Image courtesy: Riccardo Leli

"'Matera - The Passion" - Image courtesy: Riccardo Leli

From the album "Titanic" - Image courtesy: Riccardo Leli

From the album Castelluccio - Image courtesy Riccardo Leli

BPP: If you could say something important to others who were listening, what would you tell them?

Riccardo Leli: Don’t stop if the heart says to go.

From the album: "Il Marmo"

From the album : "Il Marmo"

BPP: What is your true dream, the one that keeps you up at night and if one day it were to come true you would feel peace and calmness in your heart?

Riccardo Leli: I dream a lot and, when I can, actually write them down to remember them and try to interpret them better. I often dream my father, who died in 2002, I may have a score to settle with him, something that I have to leave. My dream is going to take pictures of the mines where he worked for many years, in Belgium. I will do it and I am sure this will give me such a great emotion and serenity.

Kite Passion - Image courtesy: Riccardo Leli

BPP: How is life currently for the people in your country and what would you wish for them and for the planet at large?

Riccardo Leli: In Italy we have a situation of uncertainty and fear. The media bombard us daily with news about the economic and financial problems. The social tension is increasing day by day. There are more people who are exasperated and desperate because they have no more job and income. The quality of our life dicreases day by day. Young people are disheartened by the politicians, because they have failed the last years to invest in the real economy, on education and art.

I wish politicians would invest on young people.

It 's the only way to face the future with optimism.

"The butcher"

From the album: "People in B&W"

From the album: "People in B& W"

BPP: If you had a chance to be a child again would you choose the same life?

Riccardo Leli: I will enroll myself at the Conservatory to study piano, butin my second life I would have no doubts .

From the album: "Il Precise"

BPP: What was the exact moment that you realized what you wanted to do with your life? How did you feel at this very moment?

Riccardo Leli: More than anything there was a moment when I realized there is something extraordinary and beyond our control that can influence our lives. When my wife gave birth to our daughter, (1991) she had a serious problem with her health and the doctors called me to tell me that there was nothing left to do, she propably would die within a few hours.
The day after, the doctors summoned me back early in the morning. My heart was bursting. I was expecting the worst, but the doctors told me that inexplicably my wife had recovered and was out of danger. I cannot describe what I felt with words but that thing changed my life for ever.