I Wish I Were British: self-portraits by Michela Carmazzi that respond to Brexit

In her series of self-portraits, I Wish I Were British, the Italian London-based photographer investigates the relationship between personal identity and freedom of movement.

With herself and her subjects donning various facial masks of British personalities – the Royal Family and Prime Minister Theresa May being the most obvious – she depicts everyday British scenes in a nation that anticipates its future.

"I moved to London with my partner five years ago," Michela tells Creative Boom. "We were able to come and stay here thanks to our Italian passport. The UK seemed to offer good opportunities and we decided to invest our time, energy, and money in this country. Then Brexit happened. This project is my own way of processing the experience of Brexit and the state of uncertainty that we, as EU migrants, find ourselves in."

"More broadly, I Wish I Were British is about the rights and privileges we are entitled to on the basis of our nationality," she continues. "I looked at this from an artistic perspective and, for how impossible it is, I imagined that wearing a 'British celebrity mask' could be enough to become a British citizen."

I Wish I Were British has now been shortlisted in the Zeiss International Photographer Awards 2019. Discover more of her work at www.michelacarmazzi.com.