Dear Diary

Since prehistoric times, humans have felt the need to leave a mark. Back then, the first people carved figures into cave walls, documenting their daily lives with rough lines and primitive shapes. Centuries later, for a first communion, it was customary to receive a diary—a new way of doing exactly the same thing. Maybe we weren’t chronicling the animals we had hunted, but we were writing about fights at school, first loves, and secrets we swore we’d take to the grave.Diaries may seem like a childhood habit or even a relic of the past. But the truth is, we’re still desperately trying to preserve our memories for the future. We hang photographs on Instagram, complain on Twitter, chat endlessly on WhatsApp, practice signatures in the margins of notebooks, and leave graffiti on city walls… Some even go so far as to vandalise historical monuments to declare eternal love for their partner. (Don’t do that—the vandalising, I mean.)One thing is clear: we have an innate need to express ourselves, to hold onto memories, and to make sure future generations know we were here. In my case, I do it through self-portraits. Maybe it’s not so different from those who take selfies… or maybe it is.In this book, I share everything behind those photographs—how they were created and, more importantly, why.