Capturing an idea in a photograph, giving it a meaning that escapes most, seizing in the details the only hope for redemption in a future one cannot control. A timeless becoming, relentless, that steals breath and strength, yet in its unfolding transforms the imperfect into a single tense — the only one we are granted to live. Rare lives, extraordinary in their ordinariness. Lives deeply burdened by rare syndromes, by diseases without even a name. Lives that seem impossible to live, impossible even to approach, overflowing with suffering — often silenced, hidden. Lives that deserve to be told. Photographing delicate realities and showing the world the fragility that illness expresses is a true challenge. A seemingly difficult terrain, full of pitfalls, to be approached gently, on tiptoe, shoes in hand — out of the intimate respect that pain demands. A challenge we want to give a face to, one we wish to render tangible beyond words — one that, through a collection of intimate images, will become ink and memory. And it is in the memory of days that we may find an answer to a question that seems impossible to answer: the meaning of life. A meaning that, when paired with illness, often seems to vanish — trampled, crushed, humiliated, subdued by pain. The redemption of the defeated — of those who ask for nothing but more time to live — who, through photography, will gain the right to a place in a world that seems to deny them one. Stories united by the common thread of diversity will reveal the unique nature of each individual experience — the intimate peculiarity that makes them so rare and unique in the eyes of science and of the world. Finding a communicative and educational path through photography that reveals each subject’s experience — connecting it to that of their families and encompassing the network of doctors, researchers, and scientists — thus becomes necessary and indispensable.
(Text by Eleonora Caputo).

From this was born One of a kind, a project by Luca Catalano Gonzaga that aims to tell the story of this universe of suffering — but also of pride and the pursuit of life — through complex personal, family, and organizational narratives. Its goal is to defeat the isolation of patients, to share their experiences, to create networks, and to finally emerge from invisibility.

The authenticity of a photographic narrative stems from a daily sharing that photographer Luca Catalano Gonzaga establishes with the subjects of each story. The narrative thread always arises from a relationship built over time — with discretion, consistency, and empathy. Every reportage by Luca Catalano Gonzaga follows the ethical and professional standards of Witness Image: respect for the individual and the promotion of a culture of solidarity and human rights.

The goal is to make it a stand-alone project within the Witness Image Association’s portal, which hosts all its narrative photography projects through a dedicated website. The work could serve as a powerful testimony and simultaneously as a valuable resource for doctors and scientific communities — which often lack definitive answers. A project that aims to ensure better care and greater attention, without ever neglecting the psychological implications and the significant economic burden faced by patients and their families.

Hence the proposal for specially designed paths encompassing entire areas, including hospitals, schools, psychological counseling, and occupational therapy. Needs and necessities that must be addressed without ever overlooking the individual story of each patient. To ensure this, the commitment is to produce further photographic reportages of patients affected by rare and ultra-rare diseases in the coming years.

Goals:

• A traveling exhibition within major hospitals treating rare diseases (in Italy and abroad).

• Involvement of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and other organizations aligned with the project’s theme through exhibitions and photo screenings.

• Screenings at national and international conferences on rare diseases.

• Publication in opinion magazines and participation in major national and international photojournalism and photography festivals to raise public awareness.

• Creation of a photographic book to be distributed at conferences and traveling exhibitions.

• Involvement of pharmaceutical companies.