by Gigliola Foschi
First, we are confronted with the mystery of a vibrant and intense faith captured in the faces of women in prayer in Lalibela, and then we are struck by the mystery of traditional cultures, such as the Karo women and the other tribes of the Omo Valley. These women are so far removed from our way of life that
they become enigmatic, elusive to our understanding; for this reason, they are important in their unbridgeable differences.
Daria Cipriani therefore understands that there is an urgency, a hope, and a need to transpose into images a world at risk of extinction, where for centuries people have shared words, songs, dances, rituals, trades and daily work. Her images want to preserve the memory of an endangered world before it is tool ate. But they also serve as a tribute to all of the women she met, because she knows that each one is unique in her joy and sorrow, hopes and fears. Each woman has an encrypted story, a unique life experience that only another woman could possibly decipher and feel in depth. Somehow a natural alliance arises between women based on common experience and suffering. Only between women can there be a true meeting of the minds - an instinctive recognition - along with respect and participation in each other’s lives.
