More bullets.........

I had quite forgotten when I was writing yesterday about the relative dangers of my photography, about the occasion we appeared to be in the middle of some Sardinian feuds. Being in a dense forest with wild boars about may be bad enough but there were also ever-present signs of the troubles that have beset Sardinia for many years. 

Gennargentu Mountains, Sardinia, 2000

My wife and I were shown nothing but kindness when we were making the trips there for my work and subsequent exhibition. However, we had been warned that the area in which I was interested in, the fairly remote, mountainous region in the centre of the island had been the centre of much 'trouble' over the years. A combination of nationalism, pro-Sardinian protests over Italian domination and the family feuds that tend to fester for generations. 

Various tourists we met while waiting for the flights had told us how they would have loved to visit the remote regions we were planning to spend time in but had been 'warned off' by well-meaning advisors. 

I tend to be oblivious of such tales and warnings and would always trust my judgement and the advice of people 'on the ground'. One of the pleasures of working on projects in conjunction with arts officers and gallery directors etc. in different countries is that you get to meet people who know the area intimately and you have to trust their professional credibility and knowledge. 

We were wonderfully supported by everyone there over the couple of years the project took to be planned, executed and then published and exhibited. As with all travels there were moments when you wondered quite what kind of environment you had wandered into. 

Packing the car one morning with all the camera equipment outside the little hotel / restaurant / bar where we were staying for the duration of this particular trip, another car drew up alongside and the occupants disappeared inside. I took little notice until a very heated commotion broke out in the bar where a few local men gathered for a morning drink / expresso. I looked up from my camera packing and glanced to the left at the couple's car.

Belvi, Sardinia, 2000

The fresh bullet holes in the back of the car was evidence of some kind of 'altercation' that had just taken place and there was obviously a 'discussion' of the event taking place inside the bar. I decided to forgo the quick expresso before setting out and 'headed for the hills' as they say in the best western films. 

The landscape was a wonderful combination of the wild and remote combined with archaeological evidence of millennia of habitation and the cultivation and control of the land. Everything I had hoped to find and the trips went well. Again though, every now and again, just like the incident at the cafe you came across evidence of the tensions that have beset the country. 

Road signs, Barbagia, Sardinia, 2000

Road signs used as target practice or as a way of 'letting off steam', combined with the unexpected appearance of armed carabinieri in the most remote areas were disconcerting. On the occasions we were stopped they obviously thought us harmless and were just waved on. 

As with all remote areas and close-knit communities the tensions go hand-in-hand with a sense of mutual support. While there also may be a sense that strangers are viewed with suspicion, my experience of this, and other areas leads me to believe that most of this stems from a certain shyness and lack of understanding. When i returned for the second of two long field trips I made certain that I brought some of the images made on the first to show the people that had shown us such hospitality and help. 

'Sardina', exhibition catalogue.

I think this helped them understand what I was doing there and they appreciated my sharing the work with them while it was in progress. I became for them a little more than just the 'mad Gallese' running around their mountains with the 'antico' camera! This trust and respect that had been fostered was to prove very useful on my next field trip there. But that's another story..................