SCOTT

TYPALDOS

“asian utopies”

“BUTTERFLIES”

Location: Filippine

Butterflies is a long term project on mental health. In Ancient Greece, drifting souls were often represented by butterflies symbols. This was a direct link to Psyche, the soul goddess, who was similarly depicted with delicate Lepidoptera wings. When looking for a title for my work on the mental condition, I wanted a word that elevated the individuals I had met above the stale socially created traumas and stigmatizations, which had ruined their lives. The word “Butterflies” soon imposed itself as an image of a delicate but radiant state of being. A description of freedom constantly terrorized by the outside world and an unstable condition made splittable by a misplaced caress. This soul vulnerability constantly immersed in fear became my main obsession while photographing the men and women frozen in institutions or healing centers.

ABOUT SCOTT TYPALDOS

Scott Typaldos was born in Switzerland in 1977. Coming from a filmmaking background, he turned to photography at the end of his studies in 2001. His first active years were dedicated to diary and intimate projects. In 2005, his documentary on oil searchers in Gabon shifted his focus outside of his close circle. Since 2010, he has been extensively photographing and researching the topic of mental illness through his long term project called “Butterflies”. Scott Typaldos’s work has been awarded and shown in numerous countries. Since 2013 he has been a member of the Prospekt Photographers agency based in Milan.