The project was selected as a winner of the "PAC 2022-23 - Plan for Contemporary Art," promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. It is part of a program of artist residencies overseen by the G.A. Levis Art Gallery in Chiomonte. The goal is to host contemporary artists, engaging them in reinterpreting the works of Giuseppe Augusto Levis—a landscape painter active during the early decades of the 20th century—and fostering a dialogue with the Susa Valley’s territory: its nature, traditions, and communities. This initiative aims to enhance civic collections with a body of contemporary artworks.
In January 2024, the artist Giulio Squillacciotti was invited for a research residency to develop a project in dialogue with the Valsusian context, starting with images from Giuseppe Augusto Levis' photographic archive—simulated yet historically significant testimonies of the First World War.
Squillacciotti's work, grounded in the investigation of possible narratives and the refinement of real events with historical-anthropological roots, explores cultural peaks and how traditions morph when placed in new contexts. A War Play is a re-enactment project that begins with activating a previously simulated photographic image. Around the 1920s, upon returning from World War I, Giuseppe Augusto Levis was commissioned to create large-scale war-themed paintings. As preparatory studies for these canvases, Levis, with the help of local farmers, staged and recreated battle scenes, capturing them through photographic images.
Using this photographic heritage as a starting point, Squillacciotti creates A War Play, a game or theatrical piece where the camera follows four characters reenacting a war image. The meta-narrative of war is portrayed through a visual loop not far removed from the media imagery we are exposed to daily. For the artist, this "theatricalization" becomes a purely aesthetic artifice, marked by camera movements tracking spaces and people engaged in orchestrated actions.
Through image manipulation, Squillacciotti develops a new interpretation, layering additional dimensions onto the reenactment.
A War Play raises fundamental questions about how visual construction can influence and shape the audience's perception and interpretation, often anticipating or subverting the narrative's veracity.
A War Play is also a publication by Humboldt Books, offering a theoretical and narrative exploration of the project while compiling stories, experiences, and reflections from its creation. The exhibition proposal includes a calendar of educational activities for all audiences, providing visitors with a rich and engaging experience. In collaboration with local associations, the program offers thematic guided tours and activities tailored to families, alongside initiatives targeting schools in the area. Visitors are encouraged to follow the social media channels of the G.A. Levis Art Gallery for updates, including information on the public program.
Giulio Squillacciotti's exhibition project engages with the works of the G.A. Levis Art Gallery, located in the 16th-century Palazzo Paleologo in Chiomonte. The gallery houses a valuable collection of paintings created by the Chiomonte-born artist during the early 20th century, as well as the recently established Ethnographic Collection. The G.A. Levis Art Gallery reopened to the public in May 2021 with a completely renewed presentation, thanks to support from the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation under the "Places of Culture" grant program.
The exhibition has been extended until Sunday 11 May 2025.