014 - Mimi Mollica
© Mimi Mollica
Mimi Mollica grew up in Sicily where he inherited his father’s passion for documentary photography at the tender age of 8. By the time he was 20 he’d made his escape to London, where he began his career assisting the esteemed architectural photographer Helene Binet.
He dropped out of a photography degree to pursue a freelance career and has since covered assignments all over the world, for a wide range of internationally recognised publications. As well as juggling the demands of freelance assignments with his own long-term personal projects, he also finds time for some teaching and has more recently founded Offspring Photomeet, an organisation which provides a kind of mentoring service for photographers. In Mimi’s own words it’s “a kind of crossbreed between a networking event and portfolio review and a tiny, creative festival of photography that involves lectures, talks, debates”. I didn’t know Mimi and it was great to meet him. He’s a very articulate, engaging and energetic presence with an infectious passion for photography, and indeed life, and as such he’s the sort of bloke who comes across as real force for good in the world.
We began by talking a bit about the photographic coverage of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, and I think we both felt that perhaps we hadn’t expressed ourselves as well as we might’ve liked or that maybe the discussion was a bit cursory, which was entirely my fault, I probably moved things on prematurely. But anyhow, we did at least throw a few issues up in the air that are certainly worthy of consideration.
In episode 014, Mimi Discusses:
The photographic coverage of the Paris terrorist attacks
Inheriting his father's love of photography at an early age
His long term project on Sicily
What he learnt assisting Helene Binet
Walking out of a photography degree
CCTV, surveillance and the loss of all privacy
A project shot in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings
An optimistic view of the future
Website | Offspring Photomeet | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
“We have to be smarter. We are pushed to create more and better as professional photographers. And we must take the challenge, otherwise the game is too easy. What do you do? You keep on creating bullshit because you don’t have competitors? Then where is the growth?… We photographers are supposed to educate people with our images. If you don’t accept the challenges that come from whatever person, whatever kid with a phone, then how good is your photography?”
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