Migrando – Mariana Chiesa Mateos.

Migrando 2010 / by Mariana Chiesa Mateos
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A beautiful book of stylized illustrations sans words by Mariana Chiesa Mateos. The ongoing human migration plight, oft due to hostile events is the theme throughout this work. You the reader get to add your own narrative. Unfortunately, I have not yet discovered how to purchase a copy of this book outside Italy. (Alessandra from Orecchio Acerbo has alerted me that you can indeed purchase this book internationally from their website via PayPal here. Follow the acquista link on the right to register and make the transaction. Unfortunately, they do not seem have an English language version for checkout, only Italian.)

Migratory birds. Trees with family-like roots and branches. And water. The water of the vast ocean which holds up, separates and unites the hopes, lands and destinies of those pursuing dreams, and those who are being pursued. The history, the stories, of two periods of migration. The far-off one in the early Twentieth century, when ships loaded with Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Poles, Irish and French people left European ports to cross the ocean and reach the Americas. And today’s migration, whereby vessels plough through the Mediterranean, laden with North Africans, Eritreans, Kurds, Yemenis, Sudanese and Pakistanis, headed for the coastlines of Europe. A book without words, leaving the story’s epilogue to the sensitivity of the individual reader. A book with two covers. From past to present, or from present to past. A book that’s delicate while being strong and real at the same time. As real as the experience of Mariana Chiesa—the granddaughter of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, who herself emigrated from Argentina to Spain, until reaching Italy. Her old great-grandfather’s profile can be made out in the faces of the asylum seekers approaching the European coast. A book for those who believe that the seas unite, rather than divide.

[ All work and images ©Mariana Chiesa Mateos ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

>> Migrando – Orecchio Acerbo Editore
>> Mariana Chiesa Mateos – blog
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .