Carla Della Beffa
Il Libro dei Conti
I have been working on themes relating to economy, finance and society for about six years, and barely managed to paste a handful of posters from the series Money Transfer on some wall around Milan. I wrote a book with an economist but no gallery, curator or portfolio reviewer I met in Italy and Europe was interested enough in my visual research. Eventually I changed focus, but it's always great when forgotten projects have a new opportunity.
My pictures relating to economy are as simple as possible, to show what anybody could see. What I See Is What You Get: all images are just as I’ve seen them, uncropped and un-retouched, but then I add text: layers of meaning to show what is so often overlooked. My work is about awareness.
Il Libro dei Conti is a visual account book listing revenues and expenses.
The diptychs picture the income and output for a public space user and for the city. The hidden side of things, what we don't see, is in b/w.
Countries' fiscal revenues connect individuals and all the public services we Europeans are used to think of as every citizen’s right. In showing what's behind pretty public gardens, trains on schedule, schools and health for all, I'm not advocating harsher taxes but a more ethical behavior. If everybody would pay their dues, we all could live better.
