Novella Oliana was born in Trani, Italy, in the “heel of the boot”, with her feet to southeast and her head everywhere.
Curious and restless, she has always had a passion for the artistic expression and storytelling through photography but, for many reasons, she stifled it.
She graduates in Languages and Civilizations of the Middle East at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” in Sociology and Semiotics of the Near and Middle East Areas; she also obtaines a Master’s Degree at the University UB-Barcelona in International Cultural Cooperation.
Suddenly she realizes that she studied for pleasure, sacrifice, passion and curiosity but that the biggest part of herself was still inaccessible and locked in a box, that her greatest happiness would be to finally be able to express what she thinks and doesn’t say, what she sees and doesn’t photograph, what she feels and cannot share, because she knows that this can bring her closer to other human beings.
She gets more involved in photography in 2007 when she attends several photographic courses and workshops in Rome, including a reportage course with Dario De Dominicis.
In 2011 she wins a scholarship for the workshop held by Franco Fontana at the Toscana Foto Festival; she wins several contests and participates in several group exhibitions.
She prefers a conceptual and emotional approach to photography and conceives reportage as a personal tale, since her photos are not what she sees but what she thinks and feels.
She likes:
-Using pictures as words and words as images
-Talking about everyday life and ordinary feelings because she believes they are extraordinary
-Exorcise her shadows using them as creative fuel
She thinks that photography is:
- An act of love
- A mirror
- A fulfilled wish and a healthy intention that requires attention, care and dedication.
She currently lives in Rome where she photographs incessantly and works in a foreign diplomatic mission; she believes in the importance of being an absolute beginner, she loves life and is grateful for many things.
"You look out the window, but who is watching? I remember that story that Italo Calvino tells: that’s the world watching the world "Luigi Ghirri