On 11 and 12 February 2025 in Milan (Triennale Milano) and Turin (Gallerie d’Italia di Intesa Sanpaolo) two presentation events of Borderlands by Francesco Anselmi (136 pp., Euro 44.00 / US $ 54.00)the first monograph of the documentary photographer published in an international edition by Kehrer Verlag, distributed in Europe, USA, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Asia. For the occasion, the American writer Francisco Cantù, author of The line beacomes a river / just a river to separate us (The New York Times Bestsellers) who signed the introduction of Anselmi’s volume.
Tuesday 11 February at 6.30 pmat Triennale milanthe author will dialogue with the curator Renata Ferri And Cantù. Wednesday 12 February, always at 6.30 pma Turinat the Galleries of Italy of Intesa Sanpaoloas part of the #ininside dating schedulewill join the conversation too Mario Calabresijournalist, writer and podcaster. These meetings will be a precious opportunity to deepen the issues addressed in the book. Borderlands It is a volume of great impact that explores the complex dynamics of border between the United States and Mexico and that presents The report made by Francesco Anselmi along the US side of the border between 2017 and 2019which has always poses very debated problems and reflections, a recurring theme of the center of the electoral campaigns for the American elections. The photographic project explores the entire length of the American side, then focusing on specific areas. Through the photographs of Anselmi, his testimony and the interventions of the speakers, we will go into a world often represented in a simplistic way by the media, discovering their nuances and contradictions.
In the words of the curator of the book Renata Ferri, «Borderlands It was born from the photographic observation of a foreigner. Anselmi is the traveler who patrols the border, looking for his reading – in a happy syncretism between documentary language and reportage – of this middle ground. The bright color color of black and white shows deserted and lunar landscapes violated by the wall which, like a long snake, runs alongside fragments of existences: those of supervised and supervised, both protagonists of a contemporary tragic epic that will never have winners “.
The series aims to overcome the emergency vision with which the issues related to limited geographical areas are often addressed, trying to tell the complexity of a strip of Long land 3,600 kilometersoffering a multifaceted vision of a region full of contradictions, but also full of life and humanity. This area, crossed by decades by migrants and travelers, is inhabited by a wide range of very different people, and in the photographs of Anselmi it emerges as a place in its own right, distinct from the two countries that separates. As Cantù states with Eloquency, Borderlands He captures moments of “shocking tenderness and extreme vulnerability”, giving voice to the people who live these places, their dreams and their realities.
So writes the writer himself in the introductory essay: “Anselmi’s photographs invite us to reflect on what is observed and perceived, not only by the people portrayed, but also by ourselves, while we scrutinize these American border lands”. Cantù’s narration develops through landscapes and lives immortalized by the photographer, pushing readers to confront the myths, realities and human experiences that cross these boundaries.
An exploration beyond the “wall”. Contrary to the common perception of a completely closed and militarized border, Borderlands It shows how only some parts are actually covered with physical barriers. The images reveal significant differences between regions such as Texas, where the wall also runs through cities, and Arizona, a desert area in which migrants are forced to travel long and dangerous journeys on foot. Anselmi also carefully documents security problems, such as drug trafficking and illegal movement of migrants, but invites you to reflect on what the correct answers to these challenges are. In some areas, as in California and Arizona, it also documented the birth of autonomous militias, some of which were then involved in the assault on Capitol Hill in 2021.
Through the gaze of Anselmi, the border lands are revealed as a unique space, populated by people who live ordinary lives but full of complex and often forgotten stories. The images of the book testify to the profound commitment to this region and its people, from Rio Grande Valley to southern Arizona to California.
Anselmi and his research on “borders”. The reportage that gives life to the book Bordelands It follows the important and award -winning long -term documentation on the consequences of the Greek economic crisis launched by the author in 2012. Since then, his work has focused on current changes involving border areas in American and western society. In recent years, Anselmi has been dedicating himself to a job with the same approach as Borderlands along the borders of the European Unionan ongoing project that aims to tell the heterogeneity of Europe through the inhabitants of its border areas and the different ways in which local communities relate to this proximity, from Lampedusa to France to the borders between Poland and Ukraine.
Anslemi’s works have been published in the main international newspapers such as Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, Die Zeit and many others, has exhibited in many prestigious museum offices and is the winner of numerous prizes, such as the visa d’or for daily printing (2019), and twice finalist at the Oskar Barnack Award (2014/2019).
Born in 1984, Francesco Anselmi currently lives in Turin. He graduated from the New York ICP, receiving a scholarship from the New York Times Foundation. In 2012 he started long -term documentation on the consequences of the Greek economic crisis, which led him to receive the Chris Hondros Fellowship Fund in 2013 and the Grant View for Outstanding Personal Project in 2016. Since then, his work focuses on changes In progress involving border areas in western society, from Europe to the United States of America. He was a finalist twice of the Oskar Barnack prize (2014/2019) and received the Visa d’Or for the daily press in 2019 at the Visa Pour The Image of Perpignan. Francesco’s work was published by The Wall Street Journal, Zeit, Liberation, Le Monde, L’Espresso, Courier International, International, XXI, Leatics International photographs, among others, and exhibited in numerous international offices and festivals. In 2024 he published Borderlandshis first monograph, with the German publisher Kehrer Verlag.
Carlo Franza