Graduated in sociology in 2006, Gianluca De Simone moved to Sidney where he studied cinema at the International Film School. There he works for the photography department of some film and tv productions developing a strong interest in street photography and photo short films. Once he came back to Italy, in 2014 he realized Passato Prossimo, a photo feature focused on the asylum of Santa Maria della Pietà. It’s a strong project that obtains the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and it has also been selected for the Festival Internazionale di Fotografia di Roma and, in 2015, for the Naked City Festival.

The shutter clicks of De Simone are an important proof of the cruel and brutal reality of the most important psychiatrich ospital of Rome. The asylum was abandoned since 1999, after the issue of the Basaglia’s law. During the same period G. De Simone took part of the traveling exhibit called Urban 2015, and after that he took part of the exhibition Dal Pop al Neo-Pop where he had the chance to exhibit his works with some masterpieces by famous artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Marco Lodola. The interest in short films lasts and finally the artist made a newreport on the homeless shelter “Il Baobab” in Rome, tried to cast light on the phenomenon of the immigration. G. De Simone also collaborates with PhotoVogue and he displayed some of his photos at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London.