Un trip to Africa, a reflex in hand and the desire to change in the soul: like this Stefano Lotumolo34 years old from Lucca, he managed to distance himself from his “safe harbor” to navigate to new worlds to explore.
A distant life
«I lived, for almost thirty years, a life that did not belong to me: I was divided between the work of a floriculturist in the family business and the hobby of football which risked becoming my profession. But suddenly one day I realized that until then I had only survived in material well-being, I couldn’t understand what was really important to me and I felt the need to jump into the unknown “he says, recalling how, during his first trips to Tanzania and Asia, he found in photography the ideal tool to express himself and tell humanity.
A new awareness
Immersing himself in other cultures, Stefano, now a passionate photographer, has found many answers, but above all he began to narrate the diversity, between peoples and places that are only apparently distant.
Stefano Lotumolo with a young Maasai
“It is a bit as if photography had created a slit inside me through which that light passes that allowed me to see what really makes me feel good” He says. And that light, from the very first moment, also radiated and excited the visitors of his first small exhibitions set up around Italy, with his van “It’s all about love”.
The exhibition “On the path of good”
Meanwhilegrinding thousands of kilometers and taking countless photographs, the most important stop for Stefano has arrived: Tuesday 8 March, at the space The Warehousein Milan, inaugurated his photographic exhibition On the Path of Good, curated by his partner Ludovica Cristofaro and sponsored by the Epsilon association. “Through the 72 shots on display until March 27, captured between Africa and Asia, visitors can immerse themselves in distant histories, cultures, populations and customs, which show the beauty and the harsh reality of the world at the same time. So I try to give a pure and profound reading of humanity, telling stories of populations with whom I had the honor of sharing part of my existential journey “explains the young photographer, proud of having managed to combine culture and solidarity.
Social commitment
The works on display and the related merchandising, in fact, are on sale and the proceeds will be destined to fundraising for the construction of 3 wells in villages in northern Tanzania.
Following the friendship established, as a goal, with the Maasai people, Lotumolo has decided to make his art available to help improve the quality of life of a community that still lives in conditions of extreme poverty.
“The perfect synthesis between my photographs and my social commitment – he underlines – lies in theAssociation Global Rootsestablished in 2020 together with a group of friends with whom we are working to ensure a dignified life for the Maasai population, through the water supply of their lands and reforestation“.
The beauty of diversity
Sharing and simplicity are the watchwords of Stefano Lotumolo’s new life who hopes to give rise to profound reflections in visitors, nullifying all differences and, above all, soliciting new connections.
“When I look in the mirror, in my eyes I see the lady in the Calcutta slum, the little girl who fills the tanks with water from the puddles and the tattooed women in the Maasai village, the wonders of Vietnam and the majesty of Kilimanj. Those photographed faces are always etched in my memoryHe adds, trusting in the hope that the beauty of diversity will help to embark on the path of good as well as the path of respect towards sincere equality.
The promise kept
“From every trip I always return with my shoulders sore from the weight of the photographic equipment, but with my soul full of new stimuli” he concludes, certain that this exhibition will make stops in other cities of Italywith an urgent stop due to his trip to Tanzania, where he will go for keep the promise made to Maasai friends: new wells and a lot of beauty, again.
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