Nature can still be beauty, a
return to the source, a place in which to celebrate the joyous
meaning of life, according to David LaChapelle, who shot the
photographs for the 2020 Lavazza calendar, "Earth CelebrAction".
The twelve images immortalise women divinities immersed in
the powerful nature of the Hawaiian islands, with mythological
visions and pop colours, oceans that suggest an uncontaminated
world.
LaChapelle presented the project on Thursday in Venice
together with Francesca Lavazza, a member of the board of the
Lavazza Group, as well as Michele Mariani, creative director of
the Armando Testa agency, and Denis Curti, director of La Casa
dei Tre Oci.
The project encompasses the willingness to celebrate the
power of beauty together with the idea of action, the belief
that a human can personally take action to defend the
environment.
This is LaChapelle's third experience with Lavazza, and in it
he used the Hawaiian islands as a green curtain for the 12
photographs, to showcase a symbolic tale where the primary
elements of fire, water, earth, and air mix in the presence of
man.
The natural scenes of the calendar celebrate the beauty of
life and the awareness of the reciprocity of all living things.
"Earth CelebrAction" brings with it the idea of opening
oneself to the earth, in an ideal optimistic reconnection, one
that is idyllic and able to look beyond the environmental
emergency.
"I tried to show the magic of nature with fantasy images to
create a sort of storybook, an ideal and spiritual way where the
problems of climate change and exploitation of resources don't
loom," LaChapelle said.
The message focuses on the positive invitation to reconnect
oneself with nature, listening to its needs and saving it from
savage exploitation.
Francesca Lavazza said the evolution of LaChapelle's research
towards environmental themes tied to sustainability and
environmental protection "seemed to us to meet the evolution of
the calendar ideally".
She said the focus is ideally on "embracing, protecting,
hosting".
"Just as the earth is place and mother, in the same way we
also must protect this planet and take care of this human
society that lives there," she said.
This is the third time that Lavazza has chosen LaChapelle as
the vehicle for the meaning of its brand, the first time being
in 1993 for the first edition of its calendar.
"Collaborating on Earth CelebrAction was an opportunity to
continue on my imaginary journey, set in an idyllic paradise in
which man and nature live together in harmony," La Chapelle
said.
"I am grateful for the total freedom of expression that was
given to me by a company that I respect and that respects the
planet," he said.
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