Lisetta Carmi was born in 1924 in Genoa and she has much in common with that city: its level-headedness, for example, as well as a dry humour, a free spirit, and the marginal position that she continues to adopt although long since an illustrious figure on the contemporary scene. This photographer left little to chance, when observing reality; rather, her work is the outcome of an exacting and conscious intent.

‘I photograph in order to see, to understand’: these are words Lisetta has said repeatedly. And undoubtedly, the extraordinary empathy that guided her feet and gaze across the globe is her most characteristic trait. With her sincere and unconventional view of life, in a world dominated by injustice and oppression, she has lent a voice to those who had none.