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Clifford Chance

Arcus Pride Art 2022 – Italy

Our Virtual Pride celebrations

Clifford Chance has partnered with Tallulah Studio Art Gallery to present a selection of images by reportage photographer Bruna Rotunno.

The works selected for the Milan's exhibition portrays Community and its values: the images are intense, vibrant and intimate, reflecting an exploration of the world and its humanity.

The artist focuses on portraits and storytelling, exploring and transcending genres, alternating visionary sensibility with the immediacy of reportage and stimulating reflections on the sense of Community as a vehicle for cohesion and sharing.

Bruna Rotunno's artworks have always been focused on exploration and research in order to create her own vision of portrait and storytelling. In her works she explores different types of belonging to the concept of Community. Each situation recollects emotions and attitudes that emerge in relation to the concept of showing in front of the camera that somehow represents the other than oneself. A sense of pride and cooperation predominantly emerges from the images. Her gaze portrays symbolic characters that tell the concept of belonging and their strength in relation to a society that is still often closed, racist and sexist.

Bruna Rotunno

Bruna Rotunno is a photographer and director, working between Europe and Asia. After graduating in psychology, she started to be interested in photography, particularly in portraits, fashion images and video art.

During her career she collaborated for several years with Condè Nast and major advertising agencies, signing campaigns for brands as Bmw, Audi, American Express, Citroen, Ferrarelle, Loro Piana, Moschino, Peugeot, Helena Rubinstein, Samsung, Telecom and currently collaborates with several magazines including Vogue.

Her art, including portraits and landscapes, transcends genres and alternates pictorial sensibility to the immediacy of reportage, preserving the integrity of the subject photographed. Her vision is developed on stories of reality, propulsive element of investigation and research, captured in deeply emotional images.

Bruna has exhibited in numerous galleries in Italy and abroad. She held a solo exhibition at the Triennale di Milano ("Shangai 24h," 2010) and participated in the 2005 Venice Biennale with the short film "Sultans Dream." Her work "Women in Bali" has been exhibited at the Visual Arts in New Delhi, the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin (MAO) and the Sacred Gallery in Hong Kong. She has published six books and won the Prix de la Photographie Paris.

The Sari-Vrindavan 2018

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

An evening in Vrindavan, two colourful women walked hand in hand, swaying to the rhythm of their saris.

Since 6 September 2018, homosexuality in India has no longer been considered an offence following the repeal of the law of 1860, borrowed from the British colonisers: it provided for the payment of a fine, with imprisonment and possibly a life sentence for "anyone who wilfully engages in carnal intercourse against the order of nature". "It is difficult to correct a mistake in history. But we can set the course for the future. This case involves much more than the decriminalisation of homosexuality. It concerns people who want to live with dignity." (Judge Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud)

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Contemporary Madonna #1- Mogadishu 2016

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"I was looking for faces for my Contemporary Madonna project.... This woman I met in a market gave me a moment steeped in beauty, melancholy and mystery" - B. Rotunno

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Let Me Dream – New York 2019

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"Black Lives Matter! This image is part of a project on the movement in which I have long been involved against all kinds of inequality and discrimination" - B. Rotunno

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Contemporary Madonna #2 – Leiden 2019

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

Community, belonging, identity, diversity, pride... all in a moment gathered in the young and proud face of this Dutch girl.

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Human Voice #1 – Milan 2019

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

Ongoing project on racism and discrimination, diseases of the mind and the heart. Human Voice is an ongoing, respectful exploration of the boundaries between documentation of everyday life and portraits around the world.

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Human Voice #7 – Paris 2019

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"Recounting diversity and paying homage to it is the best key to accepting and loving each other. I am photographing "physical" diversity in order to oppose body shaming, an extension of racism and homophobia, by making my contribution through images that tell of the beauty, delicacy and poetry that everyone has within them." - B. Rotunno

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Contemporary Madonna #3 – London 2018

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"I saw her in the street and was fascinated by her, a grown-up child, aware that she was showing a synthesis of different identities" - B. Rotunno

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Hijra – New Delhi 2017

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

In India, the "third gender" is known as hijra and has been present and connected with Indian culture for thousands of years. The hijras, who occupy a prominent place in some of the ancient Hindu texts, are a true community with a centuries-long presence in Indian tradition.

Since the end of the 20th century, some Hijra activists and Western (NGOs) have been lobbying for official recognition of the hijra community as a kind of "third sex" or "third gender", as creatures who are neither man nor woman: they have been successful and obtained this recognition in Bangladesh with priority in relation to education and the right to stand as candidates in elections. In India, the Supreme Court in April 2014 recognised transgender people as a "third gender" in a specific law. Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have all legally recognised the existence of a third gender, including on passports and other official documents.

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La Broderie – Marrakech 2017

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"An exciting trip to Marrakesh into the culture and tradition of Moroccan life. A group of women welcomed me to tell me how they work at broderie, the traditional Moroccan hand embroidery. These amazing women showed me their daily sharing of work, including creativity and intimacy, showing me an innate sense of cooperation and sharing." - B. Rotunno

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Twins #1 – Liverpool 2018

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

"Twins" is a project that explores twins as an emblematic case of the construction of identity and the attainment of autonomy.

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The Horizon – Brighton 2018

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

Brighton's reputation as the LGBTQ+ capital of the UK dates back over 200 years and is a status that most of the city's residents are proud of. Brighton's social fabric displays inclusivity, equality and tolerance, creating a strong sense of community. Indeed, the city boasts an abundance of vital services such as the Allsorts Youth Project, the Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard and the Sussex Beacon that offer support and promote education and acceptance throughout the community.

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The Entrance – New York 2011

70x100 cm. Single Edition AP

This image is part of a project that tells the story of a gay woman and her life in New York. The symbolic image represents various concepts: her ethereal nudity contrasted with the strength of her shadow entering the community, while the projections of the city on her body include and welcome her.

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Supporting our Community in Milan

Among the various initiatives in support of the LGBTQ+ community, the Firm in Italy has decided to support Casa Arcobaleno (The Rainbow House), a project created in co-operation with the Municipality Milan and Spazio Aperto Servizi, a social co-operative that for over 30 years has been committed to give a voice, as well as to respond, to persons in need, by offering a network of social, health, education and assistance services. Casa Arcobaleno welcomes young adults discriminated by their original families because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or chosen transitioning. It is protected environment for those who, after coming out, find themselves without a home and without a family. Casa Arcobaleno's objective is to offer youth a safe place where they can feel welcome and achieve their life ambitions, following their dreams.

All the artworks are for sale and part of the proceeds will be donated to Spazio Aperto Servizi.

For more information, please contact Patrizia Madau.

About Arcus

Arcus is our global inclusive employee network open to all Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans*, Intersex, Queer people and their Allies. Arcus aims to encourage an inclusive and integrated culture within Clifford Chance that gives colleagues the choice to be open and out.

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Arcus archives

Explore some of our previous exhibitions to see how Arcus Pride Art has evolved in recent years.

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