Yes to All
A photographic investigation into the anthropization of the Alps
Photo by Mattia Micheli e Nicolò Panzeri
The Alps have always acted as a natural border, an apparently extreme and inhospitable environment that poses a challenge even for those tough enough to settle there. The ultimate symbol of wild, unspoiled nature, this vast and inaccessible territory was for a long time exempt from the typical realities of the capitalist system. While gruelling natural conditions and the harsh mountain winters once kept human
activities in check, nowadays winter has become the most profitable season of all in the Alps, attracting vast numbers of tourists. As capitalism has taken hold here, largely driven by rampant globalisation and mass tourism on a previously unimaginable scale, we have seen the mountains shrunk down to a simplistic and subservient version of themselves: a mere commodity, ready to be packaged and sold.
Over the years, the distance between the city and the mountains has shrunk enormously, making the latter environment increasingly attractive as a place to live: accessible, idyllic and welcoming.
The breathless glorification and relentless advertising of the cultural identity of the Alps have, ironically, lead to its total annihilation.
The desire to drag the glaciers down to the levels of mass tourism, not to mention the cumulative effects of the climate emergency, has left its mark for all to see in the outline of these anthropized Alps.
YES TO ALL has been created to capture this deceptive spectacle, where scenes of city life, cars, engines, concrete, cables, elegantly dressed women, outlandish fashions and modernity are all fused together with the dwindling remains of Alpine traditions. The new, all-inclusive mountain: a fierce empress seduced by the temptations of urban life.
(2018-2020)
