"The Lines We Draw"
Self-published, Oct. 2024
Little known to many, today’s world conceals a multitude of territories that have proclaimedthemselves independent but, for varied reasons, have never been recognised (or fully recognised)by the international community.
Starting from observation of the paradoxical situation some of the these territories findthemselves in and the experience of their inhabitants, this photographic research asks whichfactors determine the identity of a country and its people today. Through an imaginary journey toreal places, it stimulates reflection on the concept of self-determination and nationality at a timein history when borders of all kinds - genetic, linguistic, cultural, economic, fiscal, gender - areconstantly being redefined and are becoming increasingly hybrid.
On the one hand, it investigates the instances that contribute to the construction of personalidentity: the way in which we come into the world, the way we are preserved after death, our nameand family, and the celebration of rites of passage. On the other, it explores the elements at thefoundation of national identities: the local fauna and flora, historical, administrative and culturalsites, food, music, folklore, and eminent personalities.
While the Brussels-based UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) representsalmost forty unrecognised nations, ‘The Lines We Draw’ highlights the identity-building instancesof five of them: the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, commonly known in the West asTransnistria), the Republic of Catalonia, the Republic of Artsakh, the Turkish Republic of NorthernCyprus (TRNC) and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
In the book, designed by Ania Nalecka-Milach (https://nalecka.com/), the different geographicalcontexts and their acts of identity-making are not kept separate but put in dialogue with eachother in an attempt to tell a story that goes beyond the individual experience of the differentterritories. The Lines We Draw breaks the lines imposed by authorities (both official andunofficial) to propose others and discuss the ephemeral and ambiguous role of establishedcodes and the identities that survive and express themselves beyond them.
“The Lines We Draw” is now available !
First edition self published by Lavinia Parlamenti and Manfredi Pantanella, October 2024
Soft Cover + Dust Jacket
17,5 x 30 cm
271 pages
ISBN 979-12-210-7071-2
Cost :
50 Euro (shipped to Italy)
55 Euro (shipped to EU)
65 Euro (shipped to Everywhere else)