Realpolitik

On March 4, 2018, the election day for the current Italian government, Boys Boys Boys is published. The volume collects a sequence of satirical portraits of politicians in the race during the election campaigns.  After two months of consultations, the Conte Government was born, stemming from an alliance between the two major political forces, Lega and Five Star Movement (M5S).   

On June 2, 2018, the day after the inception of the so-called “yellow-blue” government, the second edition of Boys Boys Boys is published as well, printed in black and white as an ironical reference to the negative connotation of such occurrence.  In the meantime, Santese and Valli are in Rome, photographing the celebrations for Italy’s Republic Day.   

A month later (July 2, 2018) the two photographers publish Popolopopolo, a third volume comprising of photos of citizens participating in the celebrations on June 2, 2018, a date that marks the birth of the Third Republic.    On July 1, 2018, the Santese and Valli reach Pontida, a municipality in Lombardy where the main Lega rally has been held annually since 1990. Since 2011, the photographers have documented the party’s celebration and rallies. 

 Their research focuses on the hot topics animating the current political scene and its debate, as well as on the places where power is held and exercised.    The purpose of the entire operation is to document the most relevant phenomena and events characterizing the country’s current political scene through independent publications and photographic exhibitions.

The uncertain destiny of the current government makes it impossible to set a date for completion of the entire project, yet the authors have committed to producing an up-to-date documentation that does not limit itself to merely recording events, but strives to offer a constant critical-satirical vision of them.