Paîs

Paîs is a term of Greek origin (παῖς) used to indicate a girl or a boy in the age between 12 and 15 years old. A term which also reminds a lot the way Sicilians call their villages, ‘paisi’.

Reached by winding roads and unknown to many, in the Iblei mountains, there is Buscemi: one of the most uninhabited villages of Sicily.

Unchanged and unchanging reality, shaped by a still primitive flow of time.

Chiara Lucia lived in Buscemi the lightness of her young years and her fresh femininity, growing her dreams and passions, finding refuge in nature. She has a very strong connection with water and her great passion is swimming.

In the village there are few other girls of Chiara’s age; her parents took her there when she was three and a half years old, to rediscover their roots and the peacefulness that this place offers. 

A choice in counter time.

I worked on this project from 2020 (when Chiara was twelve years old)  to 2023, when she left Buscemi to go to live to Syracuse with her parents and follow her ambitions, even if it also means losing the pleasure of living in the midst of the nature she loves.

Here is an excerpt from the work.