Luca Stoppini's Photographic Billboards Transform Parma's Palazzo del Governatore

Luca Stoppini (Milan, 1961) presents a photographic project at Palazzo del Governatore in Parma, using large-format billboards mounted on theatrical wing structures. The exhibition, part of Reggio Parma Festival 2019, anticipates the 50th anniversary of Teatro Due in 2021. Commissioned by Fondazione director Paola Donati, the project asked actors from Ensemble Stabile Teatro Due to identify their favorite places in Parma. Stoppini created diptychs pairing actors with ordinary citizens encountered in those locations—such as a friar running a soup kitchen, children playing soccer, cooks, and booksellers—while actors temporarily inhabited churches, bookstores, parks, museums, and taverns. The images were also posted in urban spaces, replacing commercial advertisements. The title evokes Montaigne's concept of friendship. A backstage video reveals intimate stories. Curator Sergio Risaliti describes Stoppini as 'borrowed to photography.' The installation uses raw wood supports typically used for theater scenery, with the paper manifestos intentionally wrinkled and imperfect, reflecting their ephemeral nature.