Jacopo Benassi's Criminal Self-Portrait at GAM Turin

GAM Turin presents Jacopo Benassi's 'Criminal Self-Portrait', an exhibition exploring photography's relationship with truth and concealment. Central to the show is 'Panorama di La Spezia' (2022), a wood-panel structure from his larger installation 'Matrice', featuring nocturnal photographs of La Spezia gardens lashed with acrylic landscape paintings by Agostino Fossati. Benassi's 'Autoritratto truccato da femmina' (2007) uses flash photography and a wig to evoke police mugshots and criminal anthropology. A plaster model of Leonardo Bistolfi's 'Monumento a Cesare Lombroso' (c. 1910) from GAM's collection is displayed, referencing the founder of criminal anthropology, scrutinized by Benassi's 'Luce che illumina la luce' (2024), a 250-watt headlight. Hidden works include a photograph of Adolf Hitler's wax statue from Madame Tussauds, portraits of Nan Goldin, Alessandro Michele, and Benassi's parents, shown only as frame backs with labels. The exhibition runs through 2 June.