The Wall at the Venice Carnevale

The Venice Carnevale, renowned as the world's most beautiful festival, dazzles with its extravagant masked costumes donned by wonderful attendees. Beyond the masks, locals exude charm in their preference for painted faces and historical garb, adding to the festival's allure. Masked revellers primarily hail from neighbouring countries, including France, Belgium, Austria, and Germany, contributing to Carnevale's vibrant cosmopolitan atmosphere. The walls of Venice during Carnevale transform into a living canvas, a riot of color and texture as elaborate masks and costumes spill onto the narrow streets and hidden campi. Forget mundane brick and mortar; the walls become backdrops for theatrical performances, impromptu photo shoots, and the swirling dance of revelers. Intricate masks, from the classic Bauta to the whimsical Medico della Peste, obscure identities and encourage playful anonymity. The crumbling façades of centuries-old palazzi, often draped with shimmering fabrics and festooned with twinkling lights, add an element of historical grandeur to the vibrant present moment, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Every corner offers a new and captivating vignette, turning the entire city into a breathtaking stage for the grand spectacle of Carnevale. I have been at the Venice Carnevale every year since 2014. This year's photo project is done using just a simple grey wall at the Venice Carnevale and using natural lighting only. The wall takes on a color hue reflected onto it from the costumer's dressings. The project aims to showcase a more intimate and realistic side of the costumes, and only concentrating on the costumers alone. The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians and an increasing number of foreign costumers now prefer historical costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these historical costumes carry deep perspectives... This is the wall where I spent most of my time in Venice this year... This is the wall where all barriers between the photographer and the models break down... This is the Real Venice Carnevale...a mixture of masks and painted faces...