You Always Cry Twice When You Go to the South

This project is a tribute to the city of Bari and other places of South Italy, where I spent intense and unforgettable time. It is a tribute to my friends, strangers who became my friends, and strangers who remained strangers, but let me had a glimpse of their life. This is also a tribute to people who made my coffee and gave me a cornetto everyday, basketball guys who welcomed »the boy who came from Yugoslavia with a van« with open hands, guys that stole my phone and camera at the beach at 6 in the morning, drivers who didn’t kill me, doctors which saved my eye, medical system which doesn’t work, trains that come on time, trains that come on time but are late and fireworks during the day.

Nik Erik Neubauer

Nik Erik Neubauer’s photographs are evocative and convincing. Disarmingly honest. We believe his emotions (and even more so the emotions of his subjects): the excitement and apathy, wonder and boredom, joy and no less grief. Suddenly, we feel close to those parts of town we cannot communicate with, because we do not know how to open up to them and they aren’t talking to us either. Suddenly, we understand why residents of Le Vele di Scampia district in Naples, cried when they tore down their apartment complex, even though their neighbourhood was a popular playground for drug dealers and the place where the Camorra fought bloody battles for decades. We are moved by the joy of amateur football players, even though we never had much appreciation for football. We envy the friendship in these places, which seems more sincere, more real. […]

Part of the opening text from the exhibition in Galerija Fotografija, written by Meta Krese.

The project was nominated for Leica Oscar Barnack Newcomer Award and was selected for Fresh Eyes selection by GUP magazine in 2021.

The photobook was selected as one of the winning books of Belfast Photo Festival in 2022.

Buy a photobook.

Buy the photographs.

Where’s the Afters? >