Bunker

For his second book with Hartmann Books, Vincenzo Pagliuca continues his visual-documentary research on the archetypal images of dwelling, that began with his ‘mónos’ series. This time he explores the bunkers of the Vallo Alpino, a network of fortifications designed by the fascist regime in the late 1930s to protect Italy’s northern border, which remained under military control until 1993. Pagliuca focuses on the structures still scattered throughout South Tyrol, where the construction of about 300 bunkers was completed with an unprecedented use of resources. The monolithic architectures thus emerge from oblivion. His images spark the viewers’ interest in distinctive camouflage methods and the relationships the buildings have developed over the decades with their natural and social surroundings. The bunkers represent a difficult legacy, recalling a dramatic historical period in Central Europe, marked by nationalist ideology and the inability to resolve conflicts through peaceful means — an era we thought had long since passed... Pagliuca’s photographic practice, through a serial approach, focuses on the landscape and human intervention on the land, with a particular interest in the theme of the house and dwelling. His work has been exhibited and published internationally. Bunker is his third book. Born in 1980, he lives and works in Brescia.