Iva Lulashi exhibition at Cinque Terre sparks censorship controversy

Curated by collector Giuseppe Iannaccone, the exhibition presents twelve new works by Iva Lulashi (Tirana, 1988) in the hall of the oratory of Santa Caterina in Corniglia, the fourth of the Cinque Terre. Lulashi uses painting and drawing as vital tools to explore self, present, and memory. Her work focuses on the female figure, depicting "free and desiring" women in erotic scenes and nudes, reclaiming freedom after Albania's censorship of eroticism until the 1990s. The curator describes it as "a hymn to freedom, to the right to love." The dark, dusty colors and blurred imagery evoke confused memories, enhanced by the oratory's sloping floor and crumbling plaster, creating an ambiguous, punk atmosphere. Two works were removed after complaints to the local priest about "nudes that are too explicit." Iannaccone stated, "Censoring a work is against culture, against the freedom to be moved by poetry." The exhibition is part of a project to offer a cultural alternative to overtourism in Cinque Terre, with community involvement: two students as cultural mediators, and residents voting for a favorite work to be donated to Corniglia. The initiative is supported by the Municipality of Vernazza, Fondazione Carispezia, and Prometeo Gallery.