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Elisa Iannacone has worked as a photographer and cinematographer on six continents producing work for outlets such as Newsweek, National Geographic, and BBC. Covering challenging environments, from the Rabaa massacre in Cairo and domestic violence within Iraqi refugee camps to the impact of cyclone Idai in Mozambique, has fuelled her work with social consciousness.
STAYING AFLOAT. “I kept reading every tombstone that we walked past. There were people that died in 2015 and I thought, I’m going to be one of the people that dies this year.
In 2020, Elisa founded Reframe House media agency to shift views on social justice through art and multi-media. She has since worked with prisoners of war in Cameroon to raise awareness of the conflict, through the Humans of the Forgotten War campaign; and with children experiencing chronic illness at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. The Open University is currently studying her work methodology to asses the degree to which art can become a form of justice.
Her work as DoP has been screened on television, online and at film festivals around the globe. She is a guest lecturer (York University, Ryerson University, University of Dublin), speaker (TEDx, PSA), and podcast host of the global campaign Conversations on Consent to advocate for equality and human rights. Her recent art residency at Nirox Sculpture Park, Johannesburg (2022) culminated in creating of two new ongoing series, Dreams of Childhood, addressing childhood illness, and A Place to Hide from Monsters, which focused on childhood trauma.
HE KINGDOM. “Standing at the abyss was very intimidating, I had a lot of fear in me. But once I got the dress on, as broken as it was, I got comfortable, regained confidence, and felt like it was my kingdom.
Originally from Mexico but with home bases around the globe, Elisa’s conceptual work is grounded in magical realism. She is fascinated by the realm of the imagination and pulls from her background in cinematography and film production to address serious global issues. She believes that art has the power to generate awareness, trigger change, and support those in front of the lens on their healing journey.
She studied at York University in Toronto and City University London, graduating in BA Honours Film Production – Cinematography and MA in International Journalism – Conflict Reporting.
The Spiral of Containment: Rape’s Aftermath (exhibition: 25 1.5x1m photos, 10 portraits (1mx75cm), 1 hologram, 27 audio soundscapes)
2018 – OXO Tower Bargehouse Gallery
2018 – Camaradas art exhibition – Mexican Embassy in London, UK (selected works)
2022 – Cape Town Art Fair
2022 – Nirox Sculpture Park, South Africa
2022 – Constitution Hill Human Rights Precinct (on-going)
2022 – “The Kingdom” work accepted into the Constitutional Court Permanent Art Collection, Gauteng, South Africa
2022 – Art4More, Athens (upcoming: Oct 2022)
The Spiral of Containment: Rape’s Aftermath (book) Pen Works Media, 2018
Dreams of Childhood
2022 – Turbine Art Fair
2023 – Cape Town Art Fair (accepted)
2023 – Nelson Mandela Fund private donors exhibition (fundraiser for kids and hospital, exact date TBD).
Humans of the Forgotten War
Online campaign: www.humansoftheforgottenwar.com
Created with the Victoria Relief Foundation
-Quebexit – Feature Drama, shot in Ontario, Canada, 2020: https://www.amazon.com/Quebexit-Gail-Maurice/dp/B09L76Z852 (Amazon Prime)
TEDx Talks:
Reframing Justice: the comedy behind a failing system | TEDxCumbernauldWomen (2022)
Reframing Fear: a cinematographer’s take | TEDxCumbernauldWomen (2021)
