Dispersal
“It’s a misty day and we’ve already been walking for a couple of hours. It’s been raining for weeks now, the forest has an apocalyptic feel to it, trees have fallen and the air is still, yet full of muffled sounds. It’s 9AM but could equally be any time of the day. Weather for wolves, we used to say in Italy, and we are so mistaken. Wolves don’t like the rain and prefer to rest well sheltered in case of bad weather conditions, in wait of a more comfortable moment to walk straight and with no hesitation, like they do when they are moving or hunting. My friend and guide keeps checking the GPS signal, to lead me where the wolf’s collar sent the same signal one year ago. We see what the wolf has seen, I keep thinking. Maybe.
Something white among the leaves: a long, thick bone. Clean, totally clean. Wolves sleep by their hunted preys until there’s nothing left. I’ve read. I gleam with joy: we’re on the right path.
“Aren’t you scared? A predator is close to us, in this very moment, maybe,” asks my friend. No I’m not. Wolves are almost impossible to meet, people say, but they are most likely watching you while you least expect it. It’s their nature. It’s how they live. Being just allowed in their realm, and being able to see and tell what they see, it’s already a big honour.[..]”
Dispersal began as a project about wolves and still is, but it is more about the longing for them and for what they can represent. Wolves, a species which is still in danger, are still a powerful symbol for mystery, freedom, and nature’s independence from the will of mankind.
Dispersal cases are the wolves who leave the pack because they could not fit into the social structure ruling their society, and wander off in search of a new place to settle.
GPS trackings of an Italian wolf, Sic, were the starting point of the project, but they vanished into the quest itself. (The complete work involves physical objects, data, maps and a box with evidences that you can see here.)
After 8 months of GPS tracking Sic disappeared, and his collar was found unlatched in Italian woods. Sic remains a mystery and a symbol.
Arianna Sanesi (1976) is an Italian photographer currently based in Milan. After getting a Master’s Degree in the History of Photography at Bologna University, she went to CFP Bauer in Milan and recently attended the International Program at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, Aarhus. Sanesi is an associate and co-founder of MICRO collective.
