Foto Forum is pleased to present the exhibition Durchgangsland–Terradipassaggio. This solo exhibition by the artist Francesca Cirilli is the result of a series of residencies conceived by curator Stefano Riba and organized by Foto Forum, which took place in 2024 in the municipality of Fortezza.
The geographical context depicted in Cirilli’s images, as well as in Riba’s textual analysis — featured in a self-published booklet presented during the exhibition — extends along a 15-kilometer stretch of the SS12 (Strada Statale dell’Abetone e del Brennero) between Fortezza and Mules. This short section is densely packed with traces that tell the story of the ancient, modern, and contemporary history of an area shaped around the construction of large-scale infrastructures, built by foreign labor forces.
A key focus of the exhibition is on the temporary workers’ villages and the labor force of the Brenner Base Tunnel. While the tunnel construction site is an essential part of the project, Cirilli is less interested in the scale of the infrastructure itself and more in the stories of the people who inhabit and shape the spaces where they live and work. Particular attention is also given to the representation of the natural environment, where built structures create (or carve out) enclosed spaces that contrast with the open Alpine landscape.
