Dikchaw daj, dikchaw doj

collage, wool, oil on canvas, 3 h x 1.65 w, 2023


The collage explores the histories, memories and various occupations of a number of Roma, Sinti and 'Camminanti' communities in Italy, from those of ancient settlement, such as the Abruzzi and Molise Roma, present in Italy since the 15th century and arriving from Greece and Albania, to the Khorakhana (Muslim) and Kanjarja (Orthodox) Roma, who arrived after the war in Yugoslavia, or the 'Camminanti' who reside mainly in Noto in Sicily.
Nomadism, asociality and re-education become the three cornerstones around which the public discourse in Italy on the so-called 'gypsy problem' revolves with a view to its final resolution.
The title Dikchaw daj, dikchaw doj (I look here, I look there) takes its cue from a poem by Papusza, (1908-1987), a Polish Roma woman, who describes the fate of her nation, expressing her habits and yearnings, so the collage, through painting, photos and writing, recounts the multi-layered nature of identities and the notion of intersectional discrimination in which these identities are inseparable from each other. The collage aims to urgently challenge misunderstandings and stereotypes and at the same time give an insight into immigrations in Italy, in order to share reflections and be involved in social change, creating new narratives and above all radically rethink the way we live together on this planet.