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September 2020

#Leporellowednesdaytakeover Wednesday September 23rd,

Luca Santese and Marco P. Valli, The Captain’s body

In 2018, photographers Luca Santese and Marco P. Valli documented the birth of the so-called Third Republic in a critical and satirical way. After the end of the First Conte Government, their research focused on Matteo Salvini – the political leader of the Italian Lega – and center-right forces. His voters call him “The Captain”. Salvini’s propaganda style is highly innovative: he is constantly photographing himself, his daily life and his body, to come across as a ‘man of the people’. With millions following him, Salvini reaches his public directly through social media.

“The Captain’s Body” relies on organic and detailed documentation of Salvini’s activities that openly and radically hinders the way Salvini portrays himself. A rigorous black and white that is both obscure and dystopic oppose Salvini’s colourful, “pop” aesthetics. Such an inversion does not just concern the photographs’ style, but also their narrative sequence. At the beginning of the book, one might have the feeling that the project is truthfully and ironically documenting different perspectives of Salvini’spropaganda; However, the work transforms into a counter-propaganda, as Santese and Valli put forward their imaginary storytelling: a definite response to the factious narrative that “the captain” often uses.

Salvini has shown the ability to embody dozens of different roles: from Northern independentist to Italian nationalist, from family man to boyfriend, from gluttonous eaterto football supporter, from bulldozer driver to “jumper wearer”, thus allowing the study of a multitude of bodies that ultimately converge into one: the Captain’s Body.

Luca Santese (1985) studied at Monza’s Art institute and at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan. While attending the academy he worked like assistant in Alex Majoli’s studio and in 2008 he founded the collective Cesura: an independent group of photographers aimed to create photojournalism, documentary and artistic research projects. Today Santese’s work is concentrated in the production of research photography. He continues to deal with experimental documentary photography as in the recent projects Realpolitik and Festa.

Marco P. Valli (1989) is an Italian photographer based in Milan. In March 2011 he began an internship at CESURA, an independent group of photographers founded in 2008 that produces photographic projects ranging from reportage to documentary photography and research, mainly following the work of the artistic director of the group, Alex Majoli. After this period, he became part of the group as photographer and internal contributor. Currently he’s still producing individual projects, focusing his work mainly on documentary photography and research in artistic sector.

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