Matera
Bronwyn Andrews

Matera is one of the oldest cities on Earth. Pre-dating the Pyramids and even Newgrange, this place holds an ancient memory, as well as all the trappings of modernity as we know it. The Sassi area of Matera, which is a network of cave dwellings carved out of a deep ravine, was until the 1950s one of the longest continually inhabited spaces anywhere. However rampant poverty, disease, lack of amenities and sanitation saw Matera become ”the shame of Italy”. A government initiative at this time relocated locals to more modern accommodation and the Sassi was left to rot, later to be re-inhabited and repurposed for tourism. Bronwyn Andrews visually investigates this city in her TLP Edition Matera, questioning the cultural legacy of the Sassi now that Matera is one of two European Capitals for Culture in 2019.¹

Bronwyn Andrews is a photography graduate of IADT in 2019 from Louth. Her photographic practice is grounded largely in the theme of the female experience in Irish culture. She is interested in examining Ireland’s heritage and how our national memory affects women today, as well as Ireland’s Pre Catholic imagery and history.²

TLP Editions are an ongoing collection of contemporary photographic projects in the form of accessible and inexpensive publications by PhotoIreland. These A5 sized booklets present a standard format throughout the series, with 36 pages each, a cover with a text block of under 140 words that introduces the project, and the title and the artist name only available on the contra cover. The project creates a node of opportunities as it allows photographers to enter the publishing arena, while facilitating access to contemporary artistic practices to the general public.