Meet Emmanuelle Schena | Visual Artist and Community Heath Nurse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emmanuelle Schena and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emmanuelle, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I would say that it happened naturally and gradually. I didn’t put any pressure on myself to create my own business, because I only posted photos for fun and to share them with the people close to me. Then I got into the game, and I published very regularly. As a result, my visibility has increased, among other things, on Instagram, but also thanks to the power of algorithms to reach people with an interest in photography in particular.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think I enjoy myself when I create an AI image or when taking a photograph, it’s simply the way I represent the world. I can’t say that I’m proud of this activity, but rather I feel enormous gratitude for having been able to develop visual content in this sense. In addition, if when I publish my content on social networks, it can also benefit other people and perhaps they can identify themselves with this visual identity. On the professional side, I am still a nurse specializing in community health, and I believe that it is thanks to these two very complementary activities that I can perform in visual activities. In reality it is a relief, which can avoid emotional overflow in my work as a caregiver where I am very often confronted with people’s distress.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love traveling, but I would say start at the beginning. I have 3 origins, Swiss, Italian and French. So, I will show my friends a place that I particularly like in the city of Geneva (my hometown): the Bain des Pâquis, a place that takes us out of reality and where we can bathe in the waters of Lake Geneva all seasons and eat a good fondue. Then, we would take the train to head to Italy, in the hills of deep Tuscany, towards San Giminiano, to observe the sun’s rays during the golden hour in the lavender fields and the Chianti vineyards and savor a typical dish like the famous Florentine steak. And finally, France, because my mother comes from Haute-Savoie, a mountainous region in the French Alps, to hike in the middle of the mountains and observe the fields of wild flowers as far as the eye can see, in the Megève region.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I sincerely thank each person who has been put in my path physically or virtually, whether or not we are currently in contact. I am truly convinced that everyone can bring us multifactorial elements to evolve over time on this earth and tend towards an evolving perception of life. During the summer of 2019, I leafed through a photography book in a bookstore located in the city of Ljubljana in Slovenia, which left an impression on me. “Palimpsest” by Max Sher, which explores the post-Soviet environment photographed from 2010 to 2017, sublimating dark urban landscapes by targeting popular buildings, supermarkets, schools and even state monuments. For me, it is about highlighting the concept of the aestheticization of the negative, for some of us the ultimate reaction will be fascination (which is my case) and for others repulsion. In short, visual arts can highlight the duality of human feelings and this is really what I seek to provoke in my spectators.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/vitamixzx

Image Credits
Emmanuelle Schena