Valeria Sambale juxtaposes images to create new realities

"What fascinates me about double exposures is the idea of merging moments that didn't belong together in the first place, and thus creating an alternative reality. This series was made by exposing a 35mm roll, rewinding it and exposing it again. It's like reconstructing memories in a chaotic chain of associations, full of leaks, rather than in perfect chronological order - isn't that something the human mind does all the time?"

See more of Valeria's work on instagram at @sambaleri

ALTER/ANALOG: Why analog over digital?

VS: First of all, I think both analog and digital can work magic. But shooting film in the digital age is an adventure, like going on a long train ride instead of flying. You go incredibly slow, it's shaky and a bit uncomfortable. You need some patience until you get there, and expect lots of surprises. I feel more attentive about my surroundings, more conscious about what I'm doing, but also more playful and experimental. I enjoy letting go of the permanent control and ultimately take more interesting photos.

ALTER/ANALOG:  Do you have a favorite subject to shoot?

VS: I like to compose contrasting objects. The agility of a human body and the lifelessness of a construction site. Roses that entwine around an electric wire. An abandoned train station that gets overgrown by a forest. As they overlap in double exposures they seem like parallel worlds. Worlds that are strange and messy like the subconscious mind, and yet have their own, otherworldly logic.

ALTER/ANALOG:  What inspires you?

VS: I get inspired by old photo albums, half forgotten memories, summer, everyday life in Berlin and places I travel to.

ALTER/ANALOG:  How did you discover film?

VS: Some old family pics from the eighties made me rediscover the beauty of film. I got a Holga and fell in love with the rough look, the dreamy colours, the light leaks and the nonsense that came out of it sometimes. I started shooting more regularly this summer, when I went on an interrail trip around Europe with an analog SLR. Now I try to shoot at least one roll a week.