Pian del louv

Biographie

Luca Giacosa was born in 1982 in the small town of Alba in the north of Italy. He studied literature and philosophy at the Università degli Studi, Turin, from 2002 to 2004, then documentary
photography at the University of Wales, Newport between 2007 and 2010. Since graduating he has had several group and individual exhibitions in his young career as a photographer: Foto8
Summershow at the host gallery London, and the series Pian del louv at the Crane and Kalman Gallery, Brighton - 2010, as well as at the Avia Pervia Gallery in Modena in 2011. He has been
the recipient of several prizes and awards: Honorable Mention at the Savignano Immagine Photofestival, winner of the G. Tabò prize, Fotoleggendo 2012, as well as the Exchange Prize
Boutographies/Fotoleggendo for the same year.

Présentation

Whilst deer, chamois, ibexes, wild pigs and wolves re-conquer the Western Alps, thousands of men and women leave these areas for the factories and suburbs of the major North Italian cities. Politicians are pushing for permission to kill wolves, in order alleviate the worries of mountain communtites. However, their economic policies remain unchanged, doing little to address real issues. Wolves have become the scapegoat for the problems afflicting these areas.

Co-existence seems utopian, but the situation may change again in the future. The aim of this project is to explore and document the battle between nature and humans in the alpine region.

Wolves are mainly nocturnal animals and see the villages as groupings of lights in the darkness. They are able to get close to human settlements without detection, all that remains for people are the signs of their passing. Bones, carcasses, or footprints in the snow form a trace of their presence.

They are subjects of stories, worries in the shepherds minds, their eyes like glowing embers in the darkness.