Matilde Damele was born in Bologna and graduated in English literature from the city university.
In 1998 she metsuccessful American photographers who saw a potential in her photographsand encouraged her to move to New York to explore the world of photography.
She says: 'I will never forget my first day in midtown Manhattan; it was thebeginning of October and I felt the fast and noisy streets dynamic energy,while the grand avenues with their towering buildings against a vast blue skygave me a sense of freedom and endless possibilities. In the fifteen years Ispent there, I became accustomed to a city that often felt vibrant andpromising while at other times it was lonely and emotionally overwhelming.Living by myself in Brooklyn was a challenge and an exciting escape from myfamily and comforts and going out to explore the city with my camera made mefeel part of a complex and diverse world.'
Wandering in the streets of the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklynoffered unique insights into people’s lives and their personal stories, intotheir hopes and struggles and in her pictures she could voice her thoughts andfeelings about life. In 2014, following a visa denial to return to the UnitedStates, she moved to London where she took a master in photography at CentralSaint Martins University. Following her MFA, Exiles, her new photographyproject will win a prize given by the Marlborough gallery it will be exhibitedat Photo London in 2019 while the National newspaper The Guardian, will mentionit among the best projects of the year. Now she lives in Rome where shecontinues her projects and teaches photography.