Valeria Cherchi's 'Anatomia del silenzio' Explores Sardinia's History of Silence and Crime

Valeria Cherchi (Sassari, 1986) presents her first solo exhibition, 'Anatomia del silenzio,' at the Museo Nivola in Orani, curated by Antonella Camarda and Giangavino Pazzola. The project investigates the theme of silence surrounding criminal events in Sardinia's history up to the last decade. Cherchi, recognized in 2018 by the British Journal of Photography as one of the top twenty emerging photographers internationally, draws on personal memories, testimonies from residents of the Barbagia region, and Rai audiovisual archives to create a photo-textual narrative that delicately addresses the issue of omertà. The exhibition features an installation designed by Alessandro Floris, which presents images that avoid documentary intent, capturing everyday life, evocative landscapes, and frames from original news footage. Silence is portrayed as a subtle patina covering objects and people. The display includes prints applied to the museum's windows. Cherchi's approach is non-accusatory and free of rhetoric, presenting a diary of perceptions and a collective problem viewed through personal interiority and aesthetic language. A key textual component involves the voices of middle school students from Orani, who actively participated in the project, conveying a message of hope for the future. The exhibition runs at Museo Nivola in Orani.