From 1 to 13 October 2021 the photographic exhibition "A long life", produced entirely by Farmafactoring Foundation and displayed in the exhibition spaces of the prestigious Palazzo Morando headquarters in Milan, via Sant ‘Andrea 6, will be open to the public.

The exhibition represents a journey which, through faces and places, recounts the practices and approaches that characterise man's relationship with his body in the three stages of life: active longevity, an increasing source of new energy (Silver Age), the moment in which one's ambitions are tested (youth and adolescence), and that of the half-way travellers who try to maintain the balance between the pressures, conflicts and temptations that characterise today's complex society (adults).

In particular, the photos relating to adulthood are being exhibited for the first time. The photos taken by Costantino Ruspoli and curated by Alessandro Scotti help depict a fragment of existence capable of interpreting the multifaceted dimensions of the stages that make up life.

Starting from the analysis of the evolution of the adult population (conventionally comprising people between the ages of 18 and 65), the new social transformations related to the healthcare system's real capacity to respond to the diverse needs of the population are highlighted. The result is an unpredictable picture where demographic trends, the effects of economic and social changes, the reformulation of healthcare policies, and finally, the effects of technological revolutions are intertwined.

These analyses give rise to many points of reflection. In particular, the emergence of a new type of subject, which we have called "the adultescent", the adults who want to always feel young, even in terms of fashion and lifestyle, with the underlying fear that becoming "big" can equate to losing freedom, feeling excluded from traditional society, entering that dimension of life in which it is easier to get sick. Only to then discover that the quest for physical fitness, sports, gyms, can be motive of stress in and of themselves juts as the spread of certain chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems and mental health issues start arising at a younger age than in the past.

The age limits thus become a baseline with many exceptions. We often remain adolescents over the age of thirty, as is clear from the high percentages of "young people" who continue to live at their parent’s home, and we try to remain "adults" well after the age of 65 by postponing the parameter of seniority to when, and as late as possible, we begin to lose self-sufficiency.

Adulthood, therefore, is that "half-way point in the journey of our life" which becomes a dimension to be explored. Because the two parameters that define the maturity of each person, i.e. autonomy and responsibility, must also address the dimension of complexity and the ever faster changes in society.

In an attempt to provide an unitary interpretation of this articulated social reality, we can say that the lives of adults are basically marked by polarisation that continuously relaunches their tension: the polarity between the temptation of new challenges also in the relationship with one’s body and the fear of not being successful, of being betrayed by your own body. And then there's the tension between conflicts, starting from the generational one, and the multiplication of self-control activities with which one tries to govern the surrounding relational complexity.

In the end the work lets us rigorously see, and at the same time with a certain wonder, the articulated phenomenology that makes up adult life, in a constant search for individual balance. Squeezed between the frailties of the two generations that precede and follow it, tensions do arise that are born from subjective desires and propensities, also induced by the socio-economic and cultural changes of our society.

Knowing and dealing with these problems can be a step in the right direction: that of ensuring that the mature age, as stated by the philosopher Remo Bodei, can continue to be "A symbol of fullness, of glorious noon, of the culmination of the parable of existence and a happy balance between memory of the past and projection of the future".

The artistic project "A LONG LIFE" is presented in this exhibition in its entirety for the first time, and was inspired by the annual reports of the Farmafactoring Foundation, to which the Censis and CERGAS-Bocconi Foundation also contributed. The reports focused on the evolution of the state of health, the relationship Italians have with their bodies and the healthcare system's ability to take charge of the needs expressed, evaluating possible future scenarios to endorse when evaluating healthcare and social policies.

Starting from healthcare issues, the goal is to offer a realistic and authoritative overview of Italian society with its people in the foreground, with their particularities, their subjectivity, their uniqueness, seeking to go beyond commonplace to represent reality in its truest dimensions. The hope is to encourage reflection to constructively look at the only world and the only life we have.

The exhibition also includes a selection of photographs of the elderly and young already presented in Palermo, at the Church of Maria Santissima Annunziata "La Pinta in 2017 ", and in Padua in the General Cloister of the Basilica of Sant'Antonio in 2019, respectively.

Farmafactoring Foundation would like to thank Palazzo Morando and the Municipality of Milan for having enthusiastically welcomed the project and for hosting the final exhibition of all the work developed from 2017 until today.

Information about the exhibition

Palazzo Morando | Costume, Fashion, Image

Via Sant'Andrea, 6 - 20121 Milan

From 1 to 13 October 2021 - FREE ENTRY -

Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Closed Mondays.

info@fondazionefarmafactoring.it