Papillon by Henri Charrière

 Artwork by Valeria Gonella

“I finally brought Henri Charrière to my home. The three illustrations represent Papillon's journey towards freedom. They are the result of collages in which two fundamental elements are repeated: the protagonist, Papillon, and the background, the Baraggia Biellese. In order to give a personal interpretation to what has been the long journey of the French writer towards a new life, a life that has the taste of freedom, I have tried to place it in a place dear to me that could summarize, in different climatic conditions, the sensations that Charrière transmitted to me while reading his story. A humid, gray landscape for the moment in which he was found guilty of a murder he never committed, a dark, black landscape for the various moments in which he attempted to escape and found himself in great situations of danger, and a peaceful, blue landscape for the achievement of freedom. The story is then narrated by some photos, taken by contemporary photographers belonging to the Magnum group, which depict recent situations, but that can be transferred to the times of the narration, as if to say that some stories tend to repeat themselves and are timeless.”

Background pictures by Valeria Gonella and photographers on the website

Collages pictures by Magnum group, in particular thanks to my favorite one, Eliott Erwitt.