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The Spectators

Series made between 2015 and 2024 on the occasion of residency project CALAMITA/À, curated by Gianpaolo Arena and Marina Caneve.

Published in CALAMITA/À. An investigation into the Vajont catastrophe, Fw:Books, 2024

The Spectators focuses on the residents of the small commune of Erto and Casso, who witnessed the Vajont tragedy from their homes; On 9 October 1963, almost two thousand people lost their lives overwhelmed by a gigantic wave of water and mud caused by a huge landslide that fell into the hydroelectric basin of Vajont, Italy. Although the villages remained largely unharmed, the day after the tragedy the authorities forced them to evacuate the area by effectively blocking access with the construction of the “wall of shame”. Alongside this, Stavast investigated the immense archive of geologist Edoardo Semenza (son of Carlo, the engineer who designed and built the dam), who discovered the Vajont landslide in August 1959. His observations were confirmed by the Austrian geologist Leopard Müller. For unclear reasons their reports never reached the control authorities.

Visit the CalamitA/À Project webite