P_ReESISTENZE is a photography project that traverses the history of an ancient Calabrian village—Badolato, my birthplace. Specifically, it collects “memories” and traces of its past. These elements have shaped, over time and throughout my career, the poetics and directions of my practice.
By focusing on details and elements that characterize the current urban landscape, I explored the paths that forged my character. These shots capture everything from close-ups of abandoned homes to scattered ruins. In addition, they delve into tiny details of decaying domestic spaces that were once alive and lived-in. Consequently, this journey reshaped my imagination and my relationship with the camera. As a result, it built a dialogue between object and context in every frame to evoke the very soul and spirit of a place.
Indeed, the human presence in this work is found within the nuances. Moreover, objects and residues of lives, now corroded by time and absence, stand as a testament to indelible existences. They represent a story that demands to be reconstructed. Therefore, we must perform a meticulous gathering of what human action produces and has produced throughout its course.
For this reason, this series of images is built around the urgent need to tie back the threads of memory. Every element recalls the theme of human passage and its essence. Meanwhile, the narrative unfolds in a succession of daily life scenes. However, we can only imagine these moments as embedded within the photographs.
Initially conceived as an intimate and private work, this visual narrative soon revealed a broader necessity. It quickly became the perfect opportunity to collectively interpret the memory of the Village. This active engagement is capable of enriching each shot. In fact, every image constitutes an open space. It is a glimpse that activates a deep synergy between those who observe and the one who observed and shot.
Frequently, I asked myself how to embellish these views, which are intense and terrible at the same time. I also wondered how to bring back to light those existences destined for oblivion. Floors, old chipped tiles, collapsed walls, and cracks tell the story of what used to be. These marks look like deep, unhealable wounds. Similarly, rusted doors and handles speak within the powerful dialectic between past and present. Ultimately, this was something I felt compelled to return to the community. My goal was to explore a past that sheds light on the present and points toward a future.
In light of these reflections and intentions, the photography project P_ReESISTENZE naturally required a broader involvement of the community. This group serves as my anchor. This is precisely how the creative workshop P_ReESISTENZE/LAB was born. Furthermore, this laboratory was designed to expand the exhibition path, creating a solid cooperation between the cultural and artistic actors of the region.
The main purpose was to set off a chain of reACTIONS to trigger active participation from the viewer. Thanks to the invaluable collaboration of Vincenzo Squillacioti, the shots were entrusted to the true keepers of our Village’s culture and traditions. Inspired by the images, they shared the history and stories of Badolato. In doing so, they created dedicated captions and shared the creative process of the entire project. Consequently, the journey of the exhibition P_ReESISTENZE has become a choral work entirely dedicated to the practice of memory, which is a collective asset of inestimable value.