At Fort Corbin there is not only the Great War: the theme of sheep farming arrives in the rooms of the officers' mess with Gigi Abriani and his "VITA RAMENGA".
For several years now, Fort Corbin, in the rooms that were once dedicated to the officers' mess, has hosted exhibitions of various kinds. After Giulio Valente with "Sguardi della memoria" in 2023, the space throughout 2024 will be dedicated to Gigi Abriani, with his photographic exhibition entitled "La vita ramenga – cultura, radici e cuore dell'Altopiano".
The exhibition has more than forty images and is taken from two volumes recently made by the photographer from Lugo di Vicenza on the theme of sheep farming. The publications have aroused great interest, so much so that the author has been invited on TV in the program conducted by Licia Colò to talk about his experience.
The project, which led to a surprising result both from an iconographic and cultural point of view, was born from the photographer's idea of following a wandering shepherd for 18 months, documenting his daily life and accompanying him in his movements: from the ascent of the Astico river to the ascent towards the Plateau, from Gallio to the highlands, the return to Asiago and then the descent through the foothills and finally the Riviera del Brenta.
First of all, the photographer experienced the atmosphere, listening to the stories and confidences of the shepherds, sharing the rhythm of their day and the steps of the flock. Only then did he seal the moments with his shots, immortalizing a world so different and unknown until then.
To complete the works and make them even more precious, if possible, the images are accompanied by texts, which narrate the various aspects of the life of the shepherd and his flock, the result of the notes and emotions transcribed immediately by Gigi Abriani.
GIGI ABRIANI - BIOGRAPHY
Gigi Abriani was born in Thiene in 1960. In 1999 he turned his passion for photography into a profession by opening the photographic studio "ArteFoto" in Lugo di Vicenza with his wife Rita. Specialized in wedding services, portraiture and family services, in 2013 the couple opened a second photographic studio in Lusiana, in collaboration with their two children Stefano and Francesca. At the same time, Gigi dedicated himself to photographic research of light and illumination, which led him to publish in 2017 the book "Light in Silence", a work set on the Plateau of the Seven Municipalities in the places of the Great War. This was followed in 2018 by "Paths in the Night" centered on Monte Pasubio and the road of the 52 Tunnels. With the last two works, "Vita Ramenga" and "The Guardians of the Highlands" he carries out a personal research by observing the shepherd's work from the inside, sharing emotions, tensions and traditions. Photography thus becomes a historical documentation of a world now unknown to contemporaries.
