Urbanautica

MOUNTAIN, ANTI-SLAVIST PROPAGANDA, AND VILLAGES REGENERATION IN SCLAVANIE

by Cristina Comparato

I went back to the same places several times, and for several years, I waited for the right time to come for everyone.

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

Rapid changes on all fronts shake contemporary times. Still, the environmental issue is perhaps the most urgent one, both because it brings us closer to an end-of-the-world idea that probably did not present itself in such a strong and radical way in recent history. Also, upsetting and exacerbating the living conditions in many places on the planet, the territories that still offer good housing opportunities become an object of contention, thus transforming the balance between people and nations and bringing back coexistence with the other. The other, however, does not always come from a distant continent and does not always flee from a world in ruins. Because he is often the border inhabitant, the one who lives across the river, the one we can't identify, or to place in a culture fully recognizable because many cultures and languages cross him. Because his table is made up of dishes that we know well and others that we struggle to pronounce before even tasting. The Friulian Sclavanie is one of the never resolved contradictions of Italian history: erased from national memory by the anti-Slavist propaganda. Propaganda that did not stop with the end of fascism is a territory still unknown to most people today but can represent an opportunity for a new historical, anthropological and environmental discourse, an example of resistance for all those territories for those populations considered fragile. Davide, you consider yourself Friulan, but you have recently discovered that you also have Slavic origins. What did this discovery mean for you in terms of identity and belonging, of borders and territories?

Davide Degano (DD): I grew up with the idea of being a Sicilian who grew up in Friuli, which in no way affected my "Friulanity"; on the contrary, if possible, it strengthened it. I was called "the son of the Sicilian", and my features are also a little different from those typical of the area; at the same time, I always felt at home in the mountains I photographed. I started speaking Friulian first and then Italian, and with my father, I still speak Friulian. The same goes for the question of belonging and borders. I like to define the lands where I grew up as frontier lands rather than borderlands because, on balance, I have never seen or perceived this border, not in the sense of a clear division at least, of staying on one side or the other. I have always had the consciousness of living in a place where more cultures and traditions coexist, which together resisted. As a child, I often found myself "on the other side" during my bike rides" without even noticing. For me, it was like moving from my village to a nearby village. However, this does not mean that there are no differences, and I am not referring only to the linguistic ones (to tell the truth, it is the use of Friulian that distinguishes the Italian area from the Slovenian one). They are, above all, cultural, religious, and culinary differences.

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

I admit that I only later understood the importance of these things because as long as they were part of my daily life, I took them for granted, and I did not realize that the plain inhabitants used the term "Sclâf" in a derogatory sense. Working on this project, I discovered my father's family's bond with these areas, which brought me even closer to these mountains: my grandmother Olga was Slovenian. In the Slovenian part, she was born in Lasiz, a small village of Pulfero located beyond the border. She had come down to the plains during the Second World War (or a few years earlier), and to survive, she had to hide her origins. She never spoke Slovenian with my father and my uncles, and they learned of her roots by chance, as happened to me too: when he was almost thirty years old, my father had caught her speaking Slovenian with her sister, while I, thanks to this project, photographed her native village. This discovery, crucial in the development of the project, did not change my identity or my relationship with Sclavanie because it is a relationship that was already strong and secure. However, it opened the world to me. It showed me how vital memory is and keeping traditions and cultures alive, especially the importance of the so-called minorities in preserving the richness of a territory. This "discovery" has undoubtedly given me the means to complete the work consciously; it has given me the keys to position myself within this small microcosm and try to best tell the story of these lands.

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

The book Sclavanie has a scope beyond photography, using images as a tool for a discourse that embraces history, anthropology, politics, and society. Your photographs interact with those from the archives of photo libraries and essays and comment that further deepen the sense of research. In your opinion, what is the social and cultural role of photography, and how has your path developed?

DD: It has been a long path that is still under development. I started looking at photography more consciously when I began my academic studies. I slowly moved away from the idea that a photo must satisfy only aesthetic parameters to be "considered." Gradually, I began to learn to read images, and so, little by little, my idea of "beauty" changed too. I learned to understand the various layers present in an image. I have come to appreciate its complexity. I learned to understand the importance of the "diptych". So no longer conceiving the picture as a single and independent entity, but rather as a series that forms a story. I began to "see" its narrative power. Its ability to tell without the use of words.
At the same time, the academic world contradicts itself. It teaches you to go further and think about the photographic medium with awareness. Still, too often, it forces you only into the world of art, which, in my opinion, is very limiting. Photography itself has struggled since its birth, almost obsessively, to receive an "artistic" status, to escape the obsolete description of the photographic medium as a "tool for representing the truth," to escape from journalistic and cataloging use.

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

Sclavanie taught me how the power of the photographic medium goes beyond the world of art. It taught me how powerful it could be within everyday life. Especially when it begins to dialogue with other disciplines, it was essential for me to collaborate with an anthropologist and a researcher who dealt with the same issues but with different means. Likewise, it was crucial to measure with the same people I portrayed in my work. In this way, the photographs have become the natural conclusion of a path made of research, dialogue, discovery, and comparison.
My work goes with texts written by professors, by the memories of the local people, by historical notes and archival material that comes (for the most part) from the homes of the people I photographed. All this overlapping of disciplines and practices gives my photos a strength and immediacy that it would have been difficult to obtain only with images. All this gives photography an inestimable power, which the book dimension makes almost “eternal.”

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

I know that you have chosen a particular photographic medium as part of a slow and non-aggressive dialogue with the people you have had the opportunity to meet and tell. What led you to this choice, and how did it affect the overall work despite practical and economic impacts? , What kind of response did you receive from the subjects portrayed?

DD: Yes, right. I shot with very complex cameras, not only from a technical point of view (learning to use them, learning about and communicating with light, etc.) but also from a logistical point of view. I used a 6x7 medium format and a 4x5 large format, two bulky and "impossible to hide" cameras that immediately reveal your profession. At the same time, they lead you to take pictures in a more reasoned, calmer, more aware way. Here are the reasons for my choice. Then the film has a special value for me; I prefer its colors, shades, and the uncertainty that accompanies you throughout the creative process because you will never be sure of what you have photographed. And this element of suspense and surprise develops creativity in case of unexpected events.

© Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

Also, the people I photographed felt more comfortable because they didn't hear the "noises" of technology, and they offered themselves to the camera almost spontaneously, once they understood my intentions. Dialogue played an important role in my whole project; I'm sure everyone understood that what I wanted was to listen to what they had to tell: people were the project's protagonists, not me or my photography. And it was fundamental because I was able to win their trust and create a family atmosphere. I was patient but determined, I went back to the same places several times, and for several years, I waited for the right time to come for everyone. I sometimes gave up taking pictures so as not to ruin a good relationship; patience was rewarded because the moment right has always presented itself spontaneously and without forcing.

You have landed on the book, a goal that many photographers would like to achieve. What were the steps that led you to dialogue with a publishing house?

DD: The book has always been in my thoughts. Indeed, all my projects begin with the intention of becoming a book. What prompted me to attend an art academy was the will to learn to tell stories through images, and that's what a book does. Holland is also the place that contributed decisively to its development, which certainly influenced my approach. I am also a great enthusiast, and I collect many books, not just photographic ones, so I think I could not have developed my path differently. I met Steve Bisson through Urbanautica, having proposed my project, which was later one of the winners, for the Urbanautica Awards 2020. From there, we then came to the book released last fall 2021 from Penisola Edizioni.

© Book 'Sclavanie' by Davide Degano from the series 'Sclavanie'

© Book 'Sclavanie' by Davide Degano, Penisola Edizioni 2021

Your studies are international, and you have had the opportunity to know different academic contexts. I would like to know something about your experience and the benefits of your relationships with teachers and colleagues from other countries.

DD: This international education was fundamental for me. It helped me to develop a critical spirit and awareness. In reality, having graduated abroad pushed me back home towards the Sclavanie, taking the proper distance from the things I took for granted and giving them the right value.
However, the academic environment also has many limits; it tends to confine you to a fairly narrow bubble. My experience in the academy was a succession of ups and downs, but I must say that the moments of difficulty were the ones that gave me the most and that today I keep as important experiences.

I know you are a photographer who loves to get busy, are you already working on some new project?

DD: As I speak the exhibition of Sclavanie is running at Studio Faganel in Italy. Given the type of research and publication, it is very important that the results of this work be discussed and presented in the territory. The current exhibition in Gorizia follows the one at the Museum of Slovenian culture in San Pietro al Natisone, and anticipates the one at the Udine Regional Museum of Photography next May.

Installation view exhibition 'Sclavanie', at Studio Faganel, Gorizia, 2022

I am currently working on a "Sclavanie 2.0" project that will concern the other part of the Friulian mountains. There will also be a river, a border between Slovenia and Austria this time. I am also on a new project about Italianness, investigating the legacy of fascism and postcolonial attitudes and how they affect the quest for identity today. Especially among the new generations. Through the study of the word "colonia" which in Italian takes on three meanings: the "classic" colony (you go and conquer); the communities that refer to Italian emigrants abroad; and the lands reclaimed by Mussolini and the fascist regime. I can't say more about this project as I am still studying and reflecting on possible directions to undertake. I think it is important to address this topic today. Italy is coping for the first time in its history with the crucial issue of the rights of the so-called second-generation Italians, thousands of children born in Italy to foreign parents, often migrants. Naturally, there is debate around integration, which questions the sense of belonging and the formation of a new multi-ethnic identity.

Davide Degano (website)
Book 'Sclavanie', Penisola Edizioni 2021

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