Today a part of the northern Italian city of Modena, when it was established in the late 1940s, the artists’ and artisans’ village was independent. It was based on the idea of creating an atmosphere that allowed as close a combination of working and living as possible, a concept that beyond simplified production structures also included the social challenges of living together. Over the course of the past 50 years, the village has undergone an extensive transformation, both in terms of its architecture as well as its inhabitants. In 2009, the Italian artist William Guerrieri took his camera and set out to search for traces of the former artists’ and artisans’ village, discovering evidence of the different uses and functions of the sites in found pieces and transformed interior and exterior spaces. Besides his photographs, which are balanced both in terms of color as well as form, Guerrieri also includes documentary material in his project that was originally used for internal or advertising purposes. In doing so, this further underscores his historical, documentary approach.
William Guerrieri published his series in a book in 2009, edited by Linea di Confine and including a text by Antonello Frongia.