LENSCRATCH - Fine Art Photography Daily

Alessandra Bobba: A Family Journey, A Lifetime of Love by Ana LealJuly 10, 2026

©Alessandra Bobba, Sem Titulo#01, da Série Viagem em Família

I first met Alessandra Bobba through the study group led by the wonderful curator Eder Chiodetto. Over time, I came to know not only her artistic practice, but also the extraordinary journey she was building alongside her son, Lucca. What gradually unfolded before me was far more than a photographic project—it was an enduring act of love, patience, and unwavering presence.

Last year, that journey was tenderly gathered into the pages of Viagem em Família (Family Journey), a book that delicately weaves years of shared life into a deeply moving visual narrative. It is both an intimate family archive and a powerful reflection on care, resilience, and the profound bond between a mother and her child.

It fills my heart with joy to share this remarkable work with Lenscratch readers. Some projects move us through their beauty; others through their honesty. Viagem em Família does both with extraordinary grace.

Portrait of Alessandra Bobba

Portrait of Lucca Bobba

Viagem em Família

Viagem em Família proposes a pact between MOTHER and SON. As an artist, I establish a dialogue with my twelve-year-old son, Lucca, around his greatest dream: a family trip.

After surviving cardiac arrest at two months old, as well as other complications from an irreversible brain injury that resulted in quadriplegia, Lucca lives with health conditions that prevent him from spending long periods away from home. Despite these limitations, we decided to embark on the journey that was possible for him: an imaginary journey in which our gazes converge, perspectives shift, and the world opens up before us without borders, limits, or obstacles.

We use analog and digital pinhole photography, other analog and digital photographic processes, and digital collage to shape this journey, in which one photograph becomes another, metamorphosing through relationships of affinity with the image that came before it.

Lucca communicates through a device that interprets his eye movements and began actively participating in our photographic outings, deciding when and where each image would be made. I would place my hand over his, and together we would press the shutter button. Sometimes the movement was unsteady and the final image came out blurred, which, for us, was an absolute success: a faithful record of our way of communicating. We incorporated this error as part of our imagination.

Our worlds as mother and son, connected through photography, grew even stronger in their differences and singularities. The long exposure times, the absence of a lens, and the unpredictability of the process echoed our own unhurried rhythms, filled with silences and discoveries.

©Alessandra Bobba, Sem Titulo#02, da Série Viagem em Família

“In VIAGEM EM FAMÍLIA, Alessandra and Lucca, with their glowing eyes and hearts, trusted that invention is a matter animated by the silence of imagination. This photobook is an invitation to let ourselves be carried by the wings of a boy who takes flight into a world open to the potential of being and existing. After all, ‘everything I do not invent is false,’ wrote Manoel de Barros.” (Fabiana Bruno)

©Alessandra Bobba, Sem Titulo#03, da Série Viagem em Família

Alessandra Bobba (she/her), born on November 5, 1976, lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. She is a visual artist and photographer, with a degree in Photography from Ateliê da Imagem (2009) and further studies at the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage. She is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Photography as Support for the Imagination at f/508 school. Her research focuses on image poetics, exploring alternative processes that integrate chance and error as reflective elements. In 2025, she launched the book Viagem em Família, co-authored with her son Lucca Bobba, published by Foto Editorial, at Paris Photo. She has participated in the exhibitions O Destino das Imagens em um Mundo Por Vir (2023) at Ateliê Casa; A Deusa Linguagem (2022) at Galeria Vermelho; and the urban intervention Projeto Leve Rio (2013). She has attended workshops with Alexandre Sequeira and Ana Angélica Costa. She is a member of the Advanced Study and Creation Group coordinated by Carolina Krieger. She has undertaken residencies such as The Light House Farm (2025) and the III ACHO International Residency (2022–2023), as well as photographic immersions on Marajó Island (2025) and in Alter do Chão (2022).

Instagram: @alessandrabobba