"Via Antonio Pilati 6" : micro-stories from the former prison of Trento

In his view, as through a magnifying glass, which selects the details and caresses the memory of things, Nicola Eccher has developed a passion for telling stories. Also the photos portraying Trento’s prison are stories: about men and women, prisoners and prison officers, whose face and name we’ll never know. Actually, in his photos there are no people; yet, any little portion of his pictures is pervaded by somebody’s presence.

There’s a well-defined order in his compositions, a precise architecture, which he has studied and balanced: there’s a focal point and then a surrounding space, both pervaded by lights and shadows. The walls are timeworm and almost corroded by writings.

The carvings on the walls describe the passing of time, of long days, of repeated actions. The most mundane objects become protagonists. Doors and peepholes direct our gaze towards a narrow place, confined within walls. The inner courtyards seem to be the only moment of freedom. Abandoned beds, bowls with left-overs, blankets, are all relics of consumed lives.