Italian photographer Mattia Zoppellaro has created a striking portrait of Paralympic powerlifter Donato Telesca that appears to defy gravity, capturing the bronze medalist in an unexpected moment of rest during a studio session. The photograph was part of a series commissioned by the Italian Paralympic Committee to document the country's leading athletes before the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Zoppellaro, who covered approximately 30 different athletes over three days, describes himself as a quick shooter who started his career photographing on film, which remains his preferred medium. Even when shooting digitally, he maintains a selective approach and takes care with every click. The studio setting, while logistically easier, represented a departure from his usual preference for outdoor locations and shooting people in parks or on location.
For Zoppellaro, photography serves as a tool for personal discovery rather than viewer education. "I use the camera to unlock new things that interest me. I'm informing myself rather than trying to inform the viewer," he explains. This approach has led him to document diverse subjects, from the rave scene in the 1990s to his hometown of Rovigo long after he had moved away, always driven by curiosity about his subjects.
The photographer's method involves spending half an hour talking with each subject before shooting, asking simple questions about their daily life, relationships, entertainment preferences, and sports loyalties. He deliberately avoids discussing the photographs themselves, preferring subjects to trust his creative vision. "Portraying someone is a sort of collaboration, but I didn't discuss with each sitter how they wanted to be photographed," he notes.
The iconic image of Telesca emerged spontaneously during a coffee break when Zoppellaro noticed the powerlifter leaning back on the floor and resting. A ladder happened to be present in the studio, prompting the photographer to quickly climb it and capture the overhead shot. "Photography has to be like that – spontaneous and instinctive," Zoppellaro explains. "Something catches my eye and I want to capture it. I feel more like a thief than a painter."
Maintaining his reportage photographer approach, Zoppellaro shot with continuous light rather than flash, never arriving with preconceived ideas and preferring to improvise. He deliberately made the studio setting obvious, including elements like the metal wheel of the ladder and Scotch tape on the floor shaped like an arrow. While the Olympic Committee was initially wary of this approach, they granted him complete creative freedom and were pleased with the results.
The photograph creates multiple layers of interpretation and ambiguity. Some viewers don't immediately realize that Telesca has no legs, initially thinking he might be sitting in an unusual position. The overhead orientation adds to this ambiguity, making it appear as though the subject is defying gravity until viewers understand the camera angle. Zoppellaro prefers not to explain his pictures, comparing it to trying to explain a song or poem, though he enjoys hearing others' interpretations.
Telesca, who went on to win bronze at the Paralympics, was "over the moon" when shown the photograph. Born in Rovigo, Italy, in 1980, Zoppellaro has photographed notable figures including Lou Reed, Bono, and Patti Smith, and is currently working on a project about the Arabic world in northern Italy. His advice to fellow photographers is to travel light, sell the tripod, and avoid showing images to subjects before making final selections. The image is featured in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Photo prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, running until February 8.
