_HUMANKINDISEVERYWHERE
“Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains."
Sentence of Rousseau's The Social Contract. Written in 1762, The Social Contract picks up where his Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men left off, defining natural man as being free and happy and living in the forest. Rousseau explains how man went from this state of autonomy to the modern condition, dominated by inequality, dependency, violence and unhappiness. There were positive aspects to this process too, he admits, including the creation of families, the discovery of tools and technology, and the building of cities and social organisations. Unfortunately, this also gives way to what Rousseau called the "right of the strongest", where a reign of inequality destroys man's original state of happiness and freedom. Humanity becomes alienated, and the Discourse on Inequality ends unhappily in general war.
I appreciate and remember the fortune of having experienced a historical moment that made me savor the "abnormality" of enjoying the most basic simplicity.
Months of alienation and meditation, made up of a few faces, the dearest ones.
Months of dedication and ego nourishment.
Months in which peace, tranquility and contact with nature, which in the routine of our daily lives had been completely forgotten, if never savored, acted as the sole master.
Modernity, technologies, globalization and progress have suddenly stopped.
The focus instantly catapulted onto what physically surrounds us.
Micro sociality and for those like me who loved to wander beyond, macro thought which as the main ingredient had only found memories.
A firm, rigid and absolute stop in which it was possible to establish an imaginary line between what has been and the future becoming.
The photos made me reflect that despite everything, that humankind had already contaminated and taken possession of everything around me.
Remnants, constructions, waste, structures, artifice and footprints.
Everything, even in the most total solitude, reminded me that shortly thereafter, everything would start to tremble forcefully again and I with them.
Some photos taken during the first Italian lockdown. 📷
