Marco Delogu's Asinara: Photographs of Sardinia's Island of Contradictions

Marco Delogu, a Sardinian-born photographer (Rome, 1960), presents 'Asinara', a series of 25 nocturnal photographs exploring the paradoxical history of Asinara, an island off Sardinia. Once a pristine natural paradise, it served as a prison and quarantine station for over a century until 1997, when the Parco Nazionale dell'Asinara was established. The island housed mafia bosses like Totò Riina, Leoluca Bagarella, and Raffaele Cutolo, as well as magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who stayed there for security during the Maxiprocesso. Delogu's project includes an exhibition at Fondazione Sardegna in Cagliari, open until February 28, and a book featuring his photographs alongside texts by Edoardo Albinati, winner of the 2016 Strega Prize. Albinati, who taught for over 20 years at Rebibbia prison, notes that Delogu's night shots suspend the island's extreme tensions, making structures like 'Check point', 'Il bunker', and 'Ossario' appear anonymous and mysterious. The exhibition is part of AR/S – Arte Condivisa in Sardegna, a platform promoting Sardinian art history and contemporary projects across the region.