Nina Bufferli Barbosa is the granddaughter of the late Italian-born artist, writer, and photographer Simonetta Bufferli. Nina, also a photographer, created the Instagram account @by.simonetta in 2020 in order to share her grandmother’s vision and story with the world. Though her work has been shown in museums and exhibitions around the globe, there remains little to be found about Simonetta on the internet – and even less that has been translated into English. Here, Nina offers us one of the first glimpses into the Simonetta of her world: a uniquely gifted and intuitive person, an active participant in an extraordinary life, and, perhaps most importantly, a grandmother – and a woman - whom she knew and loved.
Quinna Hadley (QH): How do you remember your grandmother?
Nina Barbosa (NB): The memories I have of Nonna are of her being excited and exceedingly happy to have us whenever we went over to visit. As a good Italian, she loved to cook and prepare all different kinds of dishes for us. She was a very private person, who liked to walk in the garden and spend time with nature. Despite being more reserved, I noticed that with us, her grandchildren, she indulged in fun. She also loved to tell stories, and together we created fantasies of whatever she described; a kind, sweet, and patient person.
QH: Who was Simonetta, in essence?
NB: Nonna was a very private and discreet individual. A person who, despite being somewhat shy, could be very intense. Within this more reserved personality, there was a world without borders – one where she appreciated passionately the beauties of the universe. With her, everything turned to poetry. I believe that Nonna’s way of being turned her into the artist she became. The sensitive and intellectual world that she carried with her merged directly with her art, transforming her into an artist who ‘painted’ with her camera and imbued her feelings into her poetry; an extremely sensitive soul.
QH: What was the most special thing about her?
NB: This is a very difficult question. As her granddaughter, absolutely everything about her was special, from her laughter to my favorite photograph and work of poetry. But I think despite this, what always captured my attention was her passion for unraveling the world, whether physical or immaterial. She loved traveling and discovering the beauties of every corner of the planet. I believe that this perception she had about the world and the universe was something both poetic and unique.
QH: Simonetta had a truly remarkable life. Could you speak on that a bit?
NB: Nonna’s life was marked by many stories, a great many of them stemming from the fact that she was the daughter of Dino Grandi, a very important political figure in Italy at the time. He was responsible for the motion that ended up calling for Mussolini’s removal from power. Because of this, after Mussolini’s fall, several things happened – at the time, she was sixteen years old. The family had to flee to Spain and then to Portugal, as the fascists had condemned her father to death, along with herself and the other members of her family. Prior to this, she had also lived in England for seven years while her father was the ambassador in London. Nonna’s life was shaped by a series of unusual and historical events, and it brought with it its share of fears and longings – all stemming from her father’s political position.
QH: What do you hope to accomplish through the Instagram account @by.simonetta, and what made you decide to start it?
NB: For many years, I was uncomfortable seeing Nonna’s work being kept in a drawer – so last year, when I began to really engage with photography myself, I made the decision to do something about it. It was at this point that I decided I should share her work in the digital world, and so I chose Instagram as the platform – it has a good reach and it is easy to use. My goal with this account is to promote her work, to share it with the world. I believe that lovers of art should be familiar with her work and with her history, as it is truly remarkable.
QH: What would you like the world to know about Simonetta?
NB: More than knowing about Nonna, I would like people to be able to feel her, to know her, through her art. I always say you either love [her work] or you don’t understand it. I don’t find it an easy body of work to absorb or understand – it requires a lot of attention, patience, and, above all, sensitivity. This is why I’d like every person who reads one of her poems, or looks at one of her photographs, to be able to feel a little bit of Nonna; to feel how much she resonates within them.
QH: Do you feel that having an artist as a grandmother has inspired or influenced your own creative path in life?
NB: It’s funny that this question is so common, and that there are always expectations for my answer. Really, it’s quite different from what you might think: having a great artist as my grandmother made me doubt the fact that I could ever become successful as an artist myself. My grandmother and her work were placed at such an unreachable level in my mind that the possibility seemed so far away. It took me almost thirty-four years to understand that she is a part of me, and that the way I see photography comes from her – that despite the difference in our work, there is a bond that connects us. As strange as it may seem, I don’t feel influenced by her work, but rather by the artist that she came to represent to me.
There is something that connects our work, something I have not yet discovered or fully understood. I believe there is a subliminal bond between our work, a communication of sorts taking place through our art, and I believe my creative inspiration is deeply connected to this.
QH: What is your favorite memory of you and Simonetta together?
NB: There are several, but there is one that leaves a deep impression on me. It may sound silly, but for me at that moment, it made a lot of sense. I was around five years old when I invited her to come into my room and see me dance. She sat on my bed, facing me, and I turned on a tape of Enya. As the music started, I danced slowly, and I remember her smiling at me, watching me as I expressed myself through the movement. She had as much fun as I did.
There was a deep complicity in that moment, an agreement between us. I felt totally free and uninhibited around her, something that doesn’t happen often. It was a very special moment between us – and even after thirty years, I still remember her expression on that day perfectly.
QH: What do you think sets your grandmother’s work apart from that of other artists?
NB: I believe that each artist projects a little bit of themselves into their work. To me, each artist’s work is an extension of themselves. However, there are different ways to communicate your universe through your work, and this is not an easy task. I believe this is precisely what makes Nonna’s work so special: I think she managed to express her inner universe with an unusual clarity. Not only in her poetry, but also in her photography. In both photographic works (Photopoems, Within Light) this sensitivity is noticeable, as is her particular way of viewing the world around her.
Nina Bufferli Barbosa, Instagram: @by.me.nina / Simonetta Bufferli, Instagram: @by.simonetta.
