attività
Mostra fotografica
An introduction to Bormida Gotica
Castelletto Uzzone (CN)
15-31 october 2023
Cassine (AL)
11 november 2023-11 january 2024
Monastero Bormida (AT)
16-30 june 2024
Acqui Terme (AL)
11 july - 4 august 2024
Sale (AL)
19-29 july 2024
The traveling photography exhibition serves as an introduction to the Bormida Gotica itinerary itself. It presents an anthology of the video and photographic documentation campaign conducted between 2022 and 2024 by Alessandro Rota and Federico Gorgoglione (Associazione Culturale Officine Ianòs), to publicly present the first phase of their research.
The photographs on display have allowed for multiple comparisons between the various pictorial episodes, from iconographic themes to expressive choices, from workshop materials to the needs of the clients, composing a diverse and illustrative collection of the rich artistic production demonstrated by the assets involved in the Bormida Gotica circuit.
in the province of Cuneo at the Church of San Luigi Re di Francia in Castelletto Uzzone, in the province of Asti at the Castello di Monastero Bormida, and in the province of Alessandria at the Church and former convent of San Francesco in Cassine, in the Civic Archaeological Museum of Acqui Terme, and in the Church of Santa Maria e San Siro in Sale. These are particularly significant locations, spread across three different provinces, to facilitate encounters with the communities that inhabit the entire area bordering the Bormida River.
Castelletto Uzzone
In its first stop in Castelletto Uzzone, the exhibition was part of a multifunctional temporary installation project for the chapel of San Luigi Re di Francia, the result of the Banca del Fare workshop “HOLY MOLY! St. Luigi: Perspectives and Reflections,” held in August 2022 under the direction of AMArchitectrue (Stefania Agostini and Luca Mostarda, Milan), to recreate the typical architectural membrane and furnishings of a church in the interior space. A group of five volunteers selected by Banca del Fare and Fondazione Matrice ETS participated in the installation, carrying out two works to mitigate the view of the Castelletto Uzzone industrial area as part of the CRC Foundation’s “Distruzione” project.
San Francesco di Cassine
The second public discussion of the project took place in a location of historical, artistic, and geographical importance: the church and ancient convent complex of San Francesco di Cassine. Here, the photographs also interacted with the civic collection of sacred art housed in the rooms of the “Paola Benzo Dapino” Museum of San Francesco. The reproductions exceptionally interacted with the pictorial episodes painted in various parts of the church (primarily between the 14th and 15th centuries), culminating in the 14th-century fresco cycle that covers the walls of the ancient chapter house, offering all visitors an extraordinary example of medieval art, admirable in person.
Monastero Bormida
As part of the fervent promotion of the monastic and residential complex of Monastero Bormida, led by the municipal administration, the traveling exhibition presented, for the first time, the results of the staged photography residency curated by Merchè Moriana for the Alta Langa Cultural Park. The multimedia nature of this exhibition, which combined the documentary photography campaign of the assets with the video productions of the European DAGAL project, provided a successful opportunity to reflect on the project itself with the communities.
Acqui Terme
The Archaeological Museum at the Castello dei Paleologi in Acqui Terme hosted a selection of photographs from the documentation campaign, specifically relating to the cultural assets of the province of Alessandria involved in the Bormida Gotica circuit. The Museum presented itself as an observer, thus underscoring the importance of the city and the Diocese as territorial reference centers. The photographic exhibition was part of the city’s preservation efforts, drawing on the findings of the territorial survey of Acqui Terme’s cultural heritage initiated by the Piedmont Region in 1979, along with some of the material from the 1994 exhibition “Gothic and Late Gothic Painting in the Bormida Valleys,” as well as a series of volumes on loan from the Acqui Terme Civic Library for scientific and textual support.
Sale
The exhibition was part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the “Friends of the Church of Santa Maria and San Siro” Committee, a key local organization, which exhibited a selection of precious vestments from the church itself. The photographic collections of the Bormida Gotica collection interacted with the remarkable pictorial episodes that have adorned various parts of the church since the 15th century, offering new and evocative comparisons. For the occasion, the multimedia “conversation” curated by Spanish photographer Merche Moriana (Alta Langa Cultural Park) was presented again, featuring videos shot during the artist residency held in Monesiglio in January 2023.
