MORTAROTTI, Vittorio - The First Day of Good Weather

"My brother died in a car accident in 1999. His last girlfriend, Kaori, was Japanese. She kept on writing and sending photos for months after the accident.
The search for Kaori led me to Fukushima and the tsunami area, working as a pretext to look for stories of loss and reconstruction across Japan." (© Vittorio MORTAROTTI)

"'The first day of good weather' is an exceptional book project. Vittorio MORTAROTTI possesses a visual acuity that he uses to great effect,
evoking a set of emotions in a sequence of images that deploys the opacity of photography (the counter-point of its claim to truth).

The book, 'First Day of Good Weather', itself is very beautiful assembled. Printing and layout are especially strong." (© Lucy MOORE, for the First Book Award shortlist 2015)

"Although little-known, independent Italian publishing house Skinnerboox has produced a good many photo books that continually reward the sensitive and thoughtful. Its latest title, 'The First Day of Good Weather 'by Vittorio MORTAROTTI, is no exception.
Honest and straightforward, it narrates two connected events: the death of the photographer’s brother in a car accident in 1999 and a trip to Japan to search for his brother’s girlfriend who continued to write and send photos after the accident, leading MORTAROTTI to Fukashima and the area affected by the Tsunami.
It’s a quiet yet moving, conceptual-documentary record that draws a line between his personal grief and Japan’s collective trauma." (© Tim CLARK, in: Selection as one of the best photobooks of the year 2015)

About the photographer, Vittorio MORTAROTTI (b.1982):
In 2008 he has his first solo exhibition at Photomonth in Krakow. The same year he exhibits at 'Noorderlicht Festival' in the Netherlands for the show 'Behind Walls' curated by Wim Melis.
In 2010 he is one of the 13 photographers presented at 'Mois de la Photo' of Paris in the 'Italian Emerging Photography' exhibition and book curated by Laura Serani.
In 2012 he participates to the ninth edition of Manifesta with an artist residency and a double exhibition. In this circumstance he published the book 'Originals' and self-published the tabloid 'These are the days'.
He was shortlisted in 2012 for the 'GrandPrix Fotofestiwal' in Lodz and in 2013 for the 'Descubrimientos Award' at PhotoEspana, Madrid.
'The First Day of Good Weather' was exhibited for the first time at Van Der Gallery in 2013 and shortlisted for the First Book Award 2015.
Together with Anush Hamzehian, he recently won the 'Leica Prize at Images' – Festival des Arts Visuels de Vevey, Switzerland.