Portrait nominee

Ethiopia's 'church in the sky' is arguably the most inaccessible place of worship on earth, perched on top of a vertical spire of rock and 200m drops on all sides. The monolithic church, located in northern Ethiopia in the Tigray region, is 2,600m high and must be climbed on a vertical rock with bare feet to reach it, making you wonder how families grit it out to visit the church for Sunday services.

Born and raised in alittle village in the Italian Alps, now based in Barcelona, Mauro already feltfrom young age the desire to tell. He discovered that the camera was the righttool for him, the eye through which he could speak to the world. An instrumentthat began to walk by his side towards a long journey of discovery. Definitely,to grow by himself, without the influence of schools, courses and lessons hasslowed down the process of technical knowledge, but because of this he learnedhis own way of seeing and been formed and shaped by the environment and thepeople who surrounded him in his long travels.

“Although it is difficult to express, I thinkthat the photograph represents my way of speaking and what I try to do throughmy language is to capture the sense of what I breathe and touch with my hands.Not only in appearance but also, and especially, in the essence; trying toexpress nuances and subtleties contained in a single frame. I think that’s partof my personality and my work fully expresses what I am. My story, my soul”.