Denny Mollica says about himself:
“I was born in 1994 in Milan where I currently live and work as a photographer. The city, its suburbian scenario and the subculture it produces are the focus of my personal research. While working on commercial photo shoots committed by streetwear and fashion brands (Nike, Adidas, Diesel, Stüssy…) I carry on several collaborations for independent cross-cultural projects and my personal stories: “5341”, with photographer Hugo Weber (launching May 2019) and “CHANCHAL” still on-going”.
Hugo Weber says about himself:
“My name is Hugo Weber, I was born in Paris, on April 25th in 1993, from an unknown father. I moved to Milan when I was 9 because my mother fell in love with an Italian man. I always had a passion for visual art, I started drawing and making graffiti but, when I was 18, I started taking pictures with an analog camera and I never stopped since. I graduated in Graphic Design at ISS Kandinsky High school in Milan in 2014. Then, I started University but I preferred to work as a photo assistant. I had the opportunity to be assistant of Magnum photographer Alex Majoli for a year in 2016. I took part in some projects of the collective Cesura, founded in 2008 by Majoli. I spent all 2017 in France for family reasons and documented some important moments for France along the year (Calais’ jungle dismantling, Paris attack in Champs-Élysées, presidential election.) In January of 2018, I moved back to Milan, where I currently live and started a long term project titled ‘5341’, in collaboration with Denny Mollica. ‘5341’ is about a proletarian suburb in the south of Milan”.
About ‘5341‘:
We have been working on “5341”, a project about the daily life of a group of young people, born and raised in via Boifava, a proletarian Suburb situated between Piazza Abbiategrasso and Gratosoglio, in the south of Milan.
The main title of the project is the code used to identify Via Boifava; this number became a strong symbol of belonging for these people, they write it on walls and in some cases even tattoo it on themselves.
These young people reflect the condition of Italian youth in the suburbs. They shine a light on the consequences of boredom, lack of work, social and economic poverty. The petty theft is a consequence of their “detention” inside the neighborhood.
