Lisetta Carmi. Eroticism and authoritarianism at Staglieno

The exhibition celebrates the entry of a significant body of works by Lisetta Carmi within the permanent collection of the GAM, thanks to the project supported by Photography Strategy 2025. At the centre of the exhibition is the famous series entitled Eroticism and authoritarianism at Staglieno, carried out between 1966 and the 1976. In this work, the photographer explores with a critical and profound eye the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno a Genoa, capturing the complex social and psychological stratification carved in marble.

The exhibition, curated by Elena Volpato, develops at second floor the museum and proposes an unprecedented dialogue between Carmi's shots and four sculptures of the collection GAM, selected from the statuary of the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. This interaction aims to highlight the contrast between the sensual representation of angelic figures, typical of the’symbolist art, and the atmosphere of strict authority that characterises the portraits of the bourgeoisie of the turn of the century. By comparing the three-dimensionality of the sculpture and the two-dimensionality of the photography, the exhibition invites the visitor to a philosophical reflection on the intertwining of image e death, recalling the theories of Roland Barthes. Carmi's eye succeeds in unveiling the hidden drives and power structures crystallised in stone, offering a modern vision of a place dedicated to memory.