• Mattia Zoppellaro

Stories

Dirty Dancing


For years Mattia Zoppellaro has been documenting the European free party/techno scene. As an avid underground music fan and busy traveller Zoppellaro was not only a participant at the events but also a close member of this free roaming family. This has gifted him a unique and intimate access into the lives of the free party collective and everyone and thing they have touched along the way.

Appleby


Irish Travellers, also called pavees, are a traditionally itinerant ethnic group who maintain a set of traditions. They are predominantly english speaking. The origins of this nomadic group are far from known. Travellers converge at the horse fairs to buy and sell horses, meet with friends and relations, and to celebrate their music, history and folklore. Appleby’s Fair takes place every year in June, it’s one of the biggest and oldest in Europe. It is held outside the town at a crossroads on the Roman Road near to Gallows Hill (named after the public hangings that were once carried out there).

The Voice of Rovigo


Rovigo has recently been defined as the most boring city in Italy. Perhaps too small to be the called a city, but still too large to be considered a town, it hides among its dense mists a swarm of lives and surroundings on a human scale that smells strongly of italian province. It occupies the heart of eastern Padania, a land crossed by xenophobic retching; in the area, it is the city that currently hosts the lowest percentage of immigrants. Surrounded by Venice, Bologna, Padua and Ferrara, Rovigo plays the role of an imperceptible crossroad, a transit site, a railway junction that is not always worthy of further study. Except feeling the charm of the reoccurring faces, of being called by name, of the eye that feeds on nature: in this city that is born between two rivers, in reality, boredom can be a starting point, a short circuit to activate the creativity.

Portfolio

He studied photography at IED in Milan from 1999 to 2001.
In 2003, after two years working experience at the Photography department of Fabrica (Benetton’s Communication Research Centre), he moved to England, where he started shooting for several music magazines and record labels.
In the meantime he develops different projects, from social reportage (Irish Travellers, Kosovar Refugees, Western Africa Witch Hunters, Hackney’s Homeless, Maximum Security Prisons in Italian North East), to entertainment (Sicilian Religious Ceremonies, Milan Porn Fair) and youth culture features (European Rave Parties, Mexican Punks, Dakar’s Hip Hop Scene).
In September 2017 he publishes his first book “Appleby” edited by Contrasto. In January 2020 The projects “CCCP” and “Straight Outta Pikine” are exhibited at Arte Fiera in Bologna. In October 2021 publishes his second book “Dirty Dancing”, edited by Klasse Wrecks about the late 90s Rave scene.

Milan, Italy

More info

Books

Dirty Dancing. Klasse Wrecks. 2021
Appleby. Contrasto. 2017

Exhibitions & Screenings

2020. Arte Fiera. Bologna, Italy
2019. MIA Photofair. Milan, Italy
2018. Traffic Gallery. Bergamo, Italy
2018. Vichy Portrait(s) Festival. Vichy, France
2017. Fondazione Forma Meravigli. Milan, Italy
2016. Cortona On The Move Festival. Cortona, Italy
2015. Outdoor Festival. Rome, Italy