There are stories that risk being lost in time, voices that fade to barely audible whispers. But Giorgio Secci, a photographer by passion and a technician in an oil company, decided to stop them, to give them space and dignity.
“Il Bagaglio”, his personal exhibition in black and white that will be exhibited at the MUA in Sinnai from March 15th to May 11th is a journey into the soul of our elderly.
Twenty-six intense shots, each accompanied by a caption that tells its story and the authentic voice of the protagonists, recorded while they tell their stories through memories, emotions and anecdotes. A total immersion in life inside different nursing homes on the Island, in that often invisible limbo in which the elderly live with their past, between hopes and nostalgia.
Secci's photography is never invasive: it is respectful, delicate, capable of capturing not only the wrinkles on faces, but the experiences that have drawn them.
"In every person there is an infinite world," says the author. "A baggage full of memories, suffering, regrets, pride, hope. Full of life."
But “Il Bagaglio” is also a social reflection, an investigation into how our country faces old age.
"Unlike other European nations, Italy has focused on RSAs, increasing the number of elderly people hosted, especially after the 2020 pandemic," explains Secci. "The stories I have collected clearly show the consequences of this choice."
There are those who feel loved and protected in the facility, those who are waiting to go home, those who have lost everything and those who do not give up on the idea of having to submit to new rules. And yet, in everyone remains intact the desire to tell their story, to laugh and be moved, to leave a mark.
For Secci, this was an experience that changed him. "It all started in 2023, when I was attending a photography course. I was looking for a theme that spoke about humanity, and I realized that I wanted to tell the story of the elderly. But not those who still have a strong voice in society: those who have not told anything for too long, neither to others nor to themselves."
So he spent 14 months in the RSAs, building bridges with his “models”, listening to their lives and receiving much more than he expected in return .
"If in the eyes of many it may seem like a project made for them, in reality I also did it for myself", he confesses. "Every piece of advice received, every confidence shared has opened closed drawers inside me, has made me rediscover what really matters".