Our Western culture, shaped by the myth of Ulysses, has always seen the traveler as a figure both strong and determined to leave, yet deeply in need of peace and home. And if travelers have always existed, so too have those who welcomed them. «accògliere» [lat. *accollĭgĕre, comp. di ad- e collĭgĕre «cogliere, raccogliere»] To receive, and particularly to receive into one’s home, admit into one’s group, temporarily or permanently; especially with regard to the manner, feeling, and manifestations with which one receives CARNE DA MACELLO personal research – photography – video – exhibition a one day exhibition in Targhetta Butcher’s shop, Castelfranco Veneto, September 2017 a one month exhibition in Cattedrale Ex Macello Padova, September 2018 Pdf presentation (eng – ita) In March 2017, twenty-one young men arrived in the small town of Castelfranco Veneto, in northeastern Italy — the town where I live. Many of them had crossed the Mediterranean Sea just a few days earlier. They were hosted for a few days in a former boarding school, then expelled by the mayor, temporarily housed in some apartment buildings, then driven out by protesting residents. They were moved to gyms, crammed into military barracks, former B&Bs, makeshift shelters — entrusted to cooperatives founded just three days prior — transferred to Rome, to Trieste… Since I met them, it felt natural to form a bond with some of them. And to watch — often helplessly — the light in their eyes slowly fade. MEAT FOR THE SLAUGHTER was born from this: from all the stories of non-welcome disguised as hospitality, which I wasn’t able to show or tell. Together, using nothing more than a blank paper backdrop, we created a metaphor through play. Asking ourselves: “How human are we when we speak of hospitality?”