Pisa art high school creates Salvini poster made with migrant photos. The leghist mayor: ideological forgery

As part of an exhibition titled The Art of Water, created by the students of the “Franco Russoli” art high school in Pisa, a work depicting a portrait of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini made with the collage technique by putting together a mosaic of photos of migrants at sea was displayed. The portrait, which in the intentions of class 4^B and 5^B teacher Roberto Martini was meant to be a reflection on the issue, caught the attention of Cascina’s Leghist mayor as well as the League’s referent in Tuscany and European candidate, Susanna Ceccardi who, on social media, first rattled off the list of deaths at sea from 2015 to 2019 to show how the yellow-green government has decreased the sad statistic (although the mayor did not list the number of departures), and then wrote against the students: “today with Minister Salvini the deaths at sea have drastically decreased. Why didn’t they do this beautiful artwork in 2016 putting Renzi and Alfano’s face on it when there were 5,096 deaths at sea?”

“In schools as in the newspapers,” Ceccardi continued, “correct information should be promoted. And I’m very sorry that this sleazy provocation was made right in the russoli high school in Pisa, with which we have always had a nice collaboration in the past. No censorship of art, but when art becomes an ideological fake, is it right to spread lies and infamy in the form of art?” In the comments to his Facebook post, there are not a few users calling for teacher suspension or flunking for the pupils, or even denunciations, but there are also those pushing to suggest sending the class to Libya or branding the school with propaganda.

Explaining the reasons for the work was then a student from Russoli High School, Serena Bevilacqua, who told the Florentine edition of Repubblica, “Ours is art and there is no provocation. We chose to dedicate the exhibition to water, because it is versatile. And we told it in various ways, to try to create as many doubts as possible to the unconscious. We have not described the work: everyone can interpret it in his or her own way. It is an invitation to reflect.”

Pictured is the work that raised the controversy.

Pisa art high school creates Salvini poster made with migrant photos. The leghist mayor: ideological forgery

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