Made up of four different works which were realised on the island of Samos, the installation shows images taken from the life inside and outside one of the hotspots where Middle-Eastern refugees - from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine and Kurdistan - have been living for years by now, waiting to be transferred to terra firma and taken to other permanent refugee shelters.
The work Happy Summer is exhibited on the entrance wall of the room: a beach towel representing touristic locations and “mustn’t miss” sightseeing spots of the island of Samos, was embroidered with the icon of a tent and the text “hotspot”. This is to reminds us that, in the same place where millions of tourists spend their holidays, an inhuman drama about which nobody has been talking about, has been going on for years.
Memories of a camp is installed along the walls: the series is made up of sixty photographs that belong to the refugees. The images are intimate and private, and, at the same time, they represent the memories of their families: “the most important thing I have”; every picture is marked by the name, age and Country of origin of each refugee.
On a pedestal there is a small anonymous book called Nameless, with more that ninety images taken by the refugees at the camp and reproduced in full page: raw unmasked snapshots that describe the disquieting living conditions at the hotspots, with an infinite hope to reach terra firma in Europe.
The video Looking forward to seeing you is projected in the centre of the room. As if in a dream, the video recalls again the journey of the refugees: illegal immigrants go through the woods until they reach the stretch of sea that separates Turkey from Greece; a few hundred meters of salty water that seem endless, to then finding themselves closed inside the camp - prisoners of time that never seems to pass - while Europe, the mirage of a new life, grows further and further away as if it were an impassable mountain.
Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow is an independent production curated by Filippo Maggia and Daniele Ferrero, in collaboration with Teresa Serra, Andrea Luporini, Roberto Rabitti, Wissam Andraos, Chiara Corica and Giulia Dongilli.
Special thanks go to the Fondazione Fotografia Modena.
