Transhumance

Prominent works by Daniele Balangero and Andrea Rinaudo, photographs by Federico Aimar and poetic work by Annika Pettini

3 July 2021 – 31 December 2021

The travelling exhibition TransHUMANce is the result of the multidisciplinary artist residency of the homonymous project, in which Andrea Rinaudo, Daniele Balangero, Federico Aimar and Annika Pettini participated. In the spring of 2021, the four artists spent some time between Pontebernardo, Demonte, Sambuco and Argentera, coming into contact with the shepherds of Sambucane sheep and with the communities that live in the upper Stura Valley. They tried absorbing as much as possible of their culture and humanity in order to give back a personal interpretation through their art. Andrea Rinaudo chose raw wool as the tool for his work, reflecting on the sustainability of this waste material, which often represents a problem in terms of its disposal or reuse. Daniele Balangero, on the other hand, worked with the wood of chestnut suckers, from which he started out to make special shepherd’s sticks, partly produced together with the community. His project, together with Rinaudo’s, is visible outside around the Valley. Moreover, Federico Aimar has documented the life of some of Pontebernardo’s shepherds in the pastures and during transhumance: his photographs, exhibited at the Eco-museum, are accompanied by the poetry that Annika Pettini, a poetess, composed after her stay and her dialogues with the valley’s shepherds.