Title of the Work:

British Army Soldier Guarding a Downtown Street

Ireland, 1972: At the corner of a downtown street — blurred into soft focus with a perspective effect — a soldier tightly grips his assault rifle in his right hand. […]

The young man wears riot gear, and the shiny emblem at the center of his beret clearly identifies him as a British soldier. […] Behind him, a visibly irritated woman stands with her arms crossed. […]

In the cold North European December, Italian photojournalist Gian Butturini is in Londonderry, immersed in the clashes and protests that have been inflaming the country for months. […] Collective thought is fractured along a deep ideological divide: on one side, a wealthy middle class supporting union with the United Kingdom; on the other, the working-class laborers advocating for national reunification.

The relentless wave of unrest pushes British troops — deployed to restore order in a situation spiraling out of control — to respond with terrible military force, leading to the deaths of many civilians. […] Desperate screams, deafening gunfire, and thundering explosions form the soundtrack of the days leading up to Bloody Sunday — a collective mutilation that rips the heart out of public consciousness, leaving a wound that never fully heals.

And yet, Butturini chooses to take a different approach than many of his international colleagues. He deliberately avoids focusing solely on the “climactic” moments of the conflict. Instead, he refrains from portraying raw brutality and captures ordinary scenes: children, students, girls in miniskirts, barricaded neighborhoods, everyday people coping with life in a war zone — essentially, everything happening behind the front lines.

From Butturini’s photograph emerges a strong sense of empathy, powerfully asserting the right to exist despite adversity.

Technical Specifications:

• Ireland, 1972
• 60 x 40 cm – Edition 7/10
• Fine Art pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 100% cotton paper

This work was donated by Gian Butturini.

For this charitable initiative, Memorabid is responsible for collecting pre-auction bids.

The final closing of the lot will take place during the event on Monday, November 3rd, at 6:30 PM in the Salone d'Onore at Triennale Milano.

At the end of the pre-auction, the highest bid received for each lot will constitute the starting bid for the in-person event. If there are no further bids, the pre-auction winner will definitively win the lot.

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Winners of the online pre-auction will also be offered the opportunity to defend their bid by participating remotely at the November 3rd event, via the telephone auction mechanism directly through the CAF Association.