LA VIA REALE

MPhoto Exhibition by Tamara Triffez

S. Maria dello Spasimo, Palermo

July 22nd – 29th 2007

In her photographic reportages, Tamara Triffez embarks on a search for humanity’s most ancient cultural roots, in various locations on the placet. In these past few years, she has traced a route which highlights the evolutionary processes of mankind, expressed though art, myths, and religions, to fully establish their dignity. Her starting point is the description of an event, a thought on everyday life, which also expresses itself in religious festivities. It is by following this principle that Tamara Triffez has decided to document the Easter celebrations in Sicily, along with the numerous events which derive from them. Her camera lens has followed Palm Sunday in Piana degli Albanesi, a village founded by Albanian immigrants centuries ago, which has retained its orthodox tradition, highlighted by a multitude of unusual customs and rituals: the “Pope”, the crosses; the preparatory representation of the Misteri of Trapani, where the young sons of the congregations learn to carry miniature offerings. The art of the rhythmic step and the resting, the rhythm of the ‘tric e trac’, a typical instrument in southern Italy, and the pounding rhythm of the fanfare. The artist has also documented the processions of Palermo, the procession of the Cocchieri, a tradition which dates back to the XVII century, the procession of the Ballarò market, and Sacred Friday if San Mauro Castelverde, a small village perched around a mountainous peak of the Madonie, where one can view the kiss of Judas, his hanging, the Via Crucis, and the Cruxifiction. Here, one can witness the pain of a man. By choosing this ancient and profound subject matter, the artist intends to pay homage to the life of the Christ, revealing through his extreme suffering, the divine essence, and transcendence. A search which has moved mankind throughout the millennia. One could equally say that “la Via Reale”, the Real Path, is an expression which was used in the ancient world. It signifies the path, the straight road to take when avoiding the deviations and detours which can confuse the soul, the ultimate symbolic shore of the celestial Jerusalem, symbol of the Christ.

TAMARA TRIFFEZ

Tamara Triffez was born in Brussels, of Russian descent, and currently lives in Rome. Her vocation to travel, her interest for Oriental philosophy and her natural spirit of solidarity have brought her to use photography, for the purpose of transmitting the emotions in her encounters, moments in life, parties, shared traditions with people in dire existential conditions yet still profoundly bound to their culture and origins. A scholar and avid supporter of Tibetan culture, Tamara Triffes has been entirely devoted to photography since 1992, documenting primarily the Asian and European worlds. She has been searching for expressions of culture both ancient and new; she has participated in international relief programs and project both in the sanitary and social areas; she has organized conventions and conferences on the theme of human rights and has exhibited her photographs both in Italy and abroad.