Some of the images in Davide Conti's photo series 'The Patch' captured the gang members in disarming informality. Photo: Davide Conti
- Sicilian-born photographer and physician Davide Conti was invited to photograph members of the Mongrel Mob after taking pictures of contestants in a Hawke's Bay kick boxing tournament.
- He says he felt his Italian heritage allowed him enough distance from Aotearoa's colonial past to be seen as a neutral party.
- Conti says he did not feel threatened but having Holocaust victims in his family's history meant he struggled with the gang's use of Nazi related phrases and imagery.
- He says he hopes the images will spark conversation of the social and cultural roots of gangs in Aotearoa.
A Hawke's Bay-based photographer says finding a place to work out started a chain of events that led to him to capturing Mongrel Mob members at ease and in force on their home turf.
Sicilian-born Davide Conti's photo series The Patch captured the gang members in deliberate stances of collective strength as well as disarming informality.
The images ranged from members fighting in the ring or posing with their families to proudly displaying their now outlawed patches and insignia.
The photographer and physician was approached by gang members while shooting fighters in a kick boxing tournament just under a year ago.
"Initially I felt actually quite uneased and intimidated - and coming from Sicily, I know that the last thing I want is taking pictures if they don't want the photos - so I decided to take really close shots of the fighters in the ring. But then eventually I got approached from them and they really wanted the photos. So they asked me to take the photo's and I showed them my Facebook photography page. After that the atmosphere and the way I was feeling was completely different," Conti said.
Conti said he allowed his subjects to share the images and soon found himself in conversation with the daughter and partner of two local Mob members who was working to create work opportunities for some of her extended whānau.
Conti was approached by gang members while taking photos of fighters in a kick boxing tournament. Photo: Davide Conti
Soon after he was invited to photograph members of the gang in two of their regional club houses.
Conti said he felt being born and raised in Italy allowed him enough distance from Aotearoa's colonial past to be seen as a neutral party.
However, once inside the buildings he had to overcome his own culture's repulsion at the Nazi imagery alongside the gang's own insignia on prominent display about the clubhouse and on the bodies of his subjects.
"A lot of the patches, their own symbols and flags. There is a lot of that everywhere surrounding the headquarters. They use their own phrases, some of them which are related or inherited from the Nazi movements and a lot of symbolism - as well related to the Nazis - which I've personally found a bit disturbing because of my personal and family background. We had some people which were victims of the Holocaust in Italy, so that's still something that I struggle to not internalise," Conti said.
Some of the photos captured gang members in stances of collective strength. Photo: Davide Conti
Conti had spent more than 10 years in New Zealand before moving to Hawke's Bay three years ago to work as a physician in Hastings hospital.
He said he was quickly struck by the presence of gang members and their whānau in the community.
"I felt I knew about gangs [but] then coming to Hawke's Bay I found myself in a very different environment. You go to the supermarket and you see someone that was patched and sometimes they don't need to need to wear a patch because they have some tattoos on some exposed parts of their body and so it's very prominent here.
"You see a lot of people having something red, whether it's a hat, jumper, shoes. They're not patched members but they still are showing that kind of subtle support to this phenomenon of the Mongrel Mob. So then I started inquiring about that and understanding that they are a rooted part of the society here - and not necessarily just the criminal side - just a predominant part of the whole community," Conti said.
Members of the Mongrel Mob asked Conti to photograph them after seeing him shoot a kick boxing tournament. Photo: Davide Conti
Conti said he wanted the project to prompt discussion around the gangs that was distinct from their usual portrayal in the media, especially in the light of the recent ban on wearing gang insignia in public paces.
"My concern is that I don't think this law might actually address what the real issues are related to the gangs and the patches. I'm not trying to undermine that there are very significant criminal issues which are associated with the patch. To me, it's not just about that. There is more cultural and social roots of the patch that go beyond the pure criminal side," Conti said.
The project aims to promote discussion of gangs that is distinct from their usual portrayal in the media, Conti said. Photo: Davide Conti
Conti said there had been mixed responses to his sharing some of his early images of the gang on social media.
"Some of them very strong supporting me and some of them strongly against what I was doing. A common reason was because they thought I was giving gangs publicity, or also because those posts becoming popular could have been a negative influence to young people.
"I acknowledge what they're saying and I understand them [but] also my view is that gangs are part of the society - possibly a problematic part of our society - but it's a reality and it's not turning the head on the other side or pretending that they don't exist [that's] going to solve the problem. To me, it's facing it. Understanding what is the reasons? What is the background?. [That's what] will help us understand how to make this better."
Conti said he was concerned that the law banning gang patches in public places might not address the real issues related to gangs and their insignia. Photo: Davide Conti
