10 Questions with Diego Fabro

Al-Tiba9 Art Magazine ISSUE17 | Featured Artist

Diego Fabro is a Brazilian fine art photographer based in Dublin, Ireland. In recent years, his work has been showcased in prominent exhibitions at the Photo Museum Ireland, PhotoIreland Festival, and the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. Publications featuring his work include TIME Magazine, The British Journal of Photography, and European Photography Art Magazine. His artistic contributions have been recognized through acquisitions for permanent art collections, including The National Photography Collection (PhotoMuseum Ireland) and the State Art Collection (OPW) in Ireland.

www.diegofabro.com | @fabro_diego

ARTIST STATEMENT

Diego Fabro's photographic practice explores the notions of "home" and the "passage of time," reflecting his evolving psychological landscape as he navigates life between Brazil and Ireland. Fabro is captivated by the potential of light and color to transform ordinary scenes into moments of heightened theatricality, infusing his images with a sense of tension drawn from daily life. Every project, from early explorations to recent portraits and tableaus, takes place within the familiar yet layered world around his home. These works peel back layers of perception, uncovering the ways in which personal experience, memory, and place intersect, offering a contemplative view of the complex dynamics of belonging and the unseen forces of time.

***Before Night Falls***, Photography, 84 x 56 cm, 2021 © Diego Fabro

Breeze & Ashes | Project Statement

Breeze & Ashes captures Fabro's relationship with his father and the passage of time. Initially, it was a tribute to his family origins, but tragically, it transformed into a coping mechanism after his father's fatal accident on the farm. Breeze & Ashes now stands as a poignant reflection on life's fragility, a testament to his enduring love for his dad and the land.

***Front Garden***, Photography, 84 x 56 cm, 2017 © Diego Fabro

AL-TIBA9 ART MAGAZINE ISSUE17

INTERVIEW

When did you first approach photography, and what inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

When I moved from Brazil to Ireland in 2006, it felt natural to pick up a camera and start exploring my new city through photography. I became obsessed with shooting street photos, not even realizing at the time that it was an established genre. After a few years, though, I started to feel burned out and disconnected from photography—something was missing. I even thought about giving it up altogether.
Then I stumbled across a video featuring Canadian artist Jeff Wall, showing the behind-the-scenes process of one of his works. The video was just eight seconds long; all you hear is someone calling “action” and a man shaking a milk carton on the street. But I was completely fascinated by this approach. It was my first real encounter with staged and fine art photography, and it opened up a whole new world for me.
I dove into researching Jeff Wall’s work. Until that moment, it hadn’t even occurred to me that photography could be staged—that you could have complete control over the process of creating an image. That realization was like a spark reigniting my passion for photography.
While my work is very different from Jeff Wall’s, his influence on me has been profound.

***Living Room***, Photography, 84 x 56 cm, 2019 © Diego Fabro

How did your studies or early experiences shape your photographic style and approach?

I think my early years doing street photography really shaped my stamina and discipline. I’d spend hours walking the streets, shooting, and most of the time, I’d end up with nothing special. Then, I’d do it all over again the next day. That went on for years. Street photography is probably 99% failure, but it was the best kind of “training period” for me. That mindset of persistence and learning to deal with failure became a huge part of how I approach my work.
Now that my work is staged, it’s a completely different process. About 95% of my time is spent developing ideas, researching, writing, and organizing all the logistics for each picture. By the time I actually start shooting, the image is already practically “made” in my mind. Even though my current work is miles away from those street photography days, that experience taught me the importance of constantly creating, no matter how “successful” or “unsuccessful” a project might seem.

How has your journey from Brazil to Ireland influenced your perspective as a fine art photographer?

I actually didn’t start photography until after I moved to Ireland, which is later than most artists in the field. But I think starting later, after going through a lot of life experiences, gave me a different kind of perspective—maybe even a bit more maturity. Those early years were a whirlwind. I was learning English and photography at the same time while adapting to a completely new environment. It felt like starting a second life.
What I’ve grown to love is working between two very different worlds. Switching between Brazil and Ireland constantly sparks new ideas for me. It’s funny—when I’m in Brazil, I get inspired to create something in Ireland, and when I’m back in Ireland, I can’t stop thinking about projects in Brazil. That back-and-forth keeps my creativity alive and gives my work a fresh sense of movement and possibility.

Could you share how exhibiting at major venues like Photo Museum Ireland and the Royal Hibernian Academy has impacted your career?

Exhibiting is such a rewarding experience—it’s both motivating and deeply satisfying. It also brings a sense of closure to a body of work you’ve spent years creating. Seeing it out in the world, on walls, makes it feel complete in a way thatnothing else does.
I’ve always felt that photography belongs on the wall. There’s a depth and a tactile quality you get when you see a print in person. Those moments are what make exhibiting so impactful for me.

In your statement, you mention being captivated by light and color effects. What is your process for capturing these qualities in everyday scenes?

Using color and artificial lighting allows me to transform ordinary daily life into something more theatrical and staged. I’m hugely influenced by cinema and painting, and I love blending those inspirations with my experience of capturing everyday moments. By shaping the light in a scene, you can create a hierarchy of elements within the frame, guiding how the viewer reads and feels the image. It’s a way of directing the story, focusing attention on certain parts of the frame while letting others fade into the background.
For me, color and lighting are just as essential to storytelling as composition or subject matter. They work together to build the mood and meaning of an image, shaping how the story comes across visually.

How do you balance familiarity and theatricality in your work?

Striking a balance between reality and fiction is essential in my images. The overall feel needs to remain familiar, something that resonates with the ordinary and feels grounded. The theatrical elements are there to enhance, guide the viewer, or introduce a touch of drama and fiction—but never to overwhelm.
It’s just enough to shift your perspective without losing the connection to the everyday. That balance keeps the work relatable while still allowing it to feel imaginative and evocative.

As you mentioned, your work explores themes of “home” and the “passage of time.” What inspired you to delve into these subjects?

Living abroad for almost two decades has made me feel disconnected from my Brazilian roots, and I’ve always wrestled with the idea of what “home” really means. During my yearly visits to my father’s farm in Brazil, I started creatingimages of the two of us around the land. It was my way of staying connected—to him, to the place, and to my own sense of belonging. These images tried to capture not just the essence of the farm but also how we each saw its meaning.
For five years, we worked together on these shoots, planning them carefully and collaborating throughout. Then, in 2023, my father tragically passed away in a farm accident. The series Breeze & Ashes now holds a much deeper meaning for me. It’s become a reflection of how fragile life is and a tribute to my love for my dad and the land we shared.
My father was the person I felt closest to, and losing him hit me hard. It gave me this overwhelming awareness of how fleeting time is. It’s strange—we’re so strong in some ways but incredibly vulnerable in others. That tension between time slipping away and our desire to hold on has naturally found its way into my work.
Lately, I’ve realized something interesting: all my personal projects, whether in Brazil or Ireland, have been created just steps from my home. It’s like my work has always been a way of exploring what’s close to me, both physically and emotionally, no matter where I am.

Are there new themes or locations you want to explore in future work?

I have this weird fascination with suburban spaces, so lately, I’ve been exploring my neighborhood in Dublin, photographing the beautiful period houses at night. That became the backdrop for my recent project, Reverie.
While working on this series, I happened to read Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which touches on something I find both fascinating and terrifying. In the play, the characters are trapped in a confined space, wrestling with their limitations and the inevitability of time passing. The idea of being stuck in one place for so long that you forget how you got there—or even why you stay—feels like one of my biggest fears.
That sense of being “stuck” really shaped this project. I imagined it almost like a theatrical stage, setting my images against dimly lit suburban backdrops—places where I’ve spent so many years. The characters in my photos move like dreamers in a trance, caught between fantasy and reality, almost as if time has slowed down around them.
Most of my personal work has always been rooted in the familiar—created in the spaces close to where I live, inspired by that deep connection. Lately, however, I’ve been intrigued by the idea of stepping out of that comfort zone. Exploring environments I don’t know, places that feel unfamiliar, feels like an exciting challenge, and it’s something I’d love to try next.

What upcoming projects or exhibitions are you most excited about, and how do you envision the next phase of your artistic journey?

At the moment, my full focus is on my series Reverie. I’ve been developing this project for two years, and I’m now nearing its completion. The prospect of presenting it as both a book and an exhibition is incredibly exciting and feels like the natural culmination of this body of work.
By the time I finish Reverie, I’m confident that new ideas will already be taking shape in my mind. Each project tends to lead naturally into the next, and I look forward to exploring where this ongoing journey will take me.

Lastly, with your achievements so far, where do you see yourself and your work five years from now?

Honestly, five years feels impossible to plan. Everything is changing so quickly—especially with technology and the new tools for creating art. The way people experience and perceive art is evolving rapidly.
I tend to think in smaller blocks of time, like a year. For now, I have some shoots planned and a few ideas I want to bring to life in 2025. My main focus is to just keep creating, no matter what. Whether a project “succeeds” or “fails,” I’ve learned that staying in motion, creatively speaking, is what matters most.

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