Realpolitik: Satirical Photographs of Italian Politicians at BASE Milano

From June 23 to July 2, 2023, BASE Milano hosts 'Realpolitik', a photographic project by Luca Santese and Marco P. Valli that critiques and satirizes contemporary Italian political propaganda and communication. The exhibition coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of the Cesura collective, an independent photography group, and is organized in collaboration with Contemporary Cluster Roma. Since 2018, Santese and Valli have systematically documented Italian political events and figures through a series of independent publications, including 'Boys Boys Boys', 'Popolopopolo', 'Lega Nord Party', 'MoVimento Lento', 'Mask off', and 'Tik Tok Tak', all released by Cesura Publish. The project has garnered attention from national and international media and has been featured in various experimental installations across Italy, such as Cinema Palazzo in Rome, FotoForum in Bolzano, Magazzini Fotografici in Naples, and Alcart Festival in Alcamo. At BASE Milano, a selection of iconic images from Realpolitik will recreate a gallery of caricatural portraits of current Italian politicians, mocking the aesthetic conventions of their public Facebook and Instagram profiles. The project aims to use photography not merely as a documentary tool but as a critical instrument to stimulate debate. Notably, the exhibition includes portraits of Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister and media magnate who recently passed away, whose image is central to the series.