In Cologna Veneta, in the province of Verona, one exhibition on sex and pornography it’s causing quite a stir sensation. It was organized by the association «The places of abandonment» e inaugurated on April 14th in the former Radiology department of old hospital in Cologna in Via Predicale. Spaces that the organization has been managing for three years now, offering ever-changing exhibitions on environmental disasters such as Chernobyl or Vajont or on some pages from the past. This time the theme is very different. The «incriminated» exhibition is titled “Taboo. History, curiosities and other news on sex and pornography» and has been defined in recent days by some parents who have contacted the organization «indignant» and “violence against women” despite not having visited her. Many have reached out even to the mayor Manuel Scalzottoalthough the premises are not owned by the Municipality and it is therefore not up to the mayor to intervene.
The organizers
«There are no pornographic videos or racy images, nor representations of explicit sexual acts – explains Devis Vezzaro, president of the association -. It is not an exposition on the commodification of sex, but is a narrative about the history of pornography and sexual evolution in the world from a cultural point of view. Let’s start from Paleolithic graffiti up to the Only Fans phenomenon that is characterizing our era.”
The contents
The exhibition develops in a space of 300 square metersthat is, 10 rooms set up with 195 square meters of posters and 368 photos that deal with 52 different topics, including those related to gender and sexual orientation, heterosexual, homosexual or trans. We start from the first graffiti found in a cave in France and to the representations in the villas of Pompeii to then arrive at the erotic literature of the Marquis De Sade. Space is also given to the phenomenon of the first comics in the series Skorpiothe erotic fiction books by Olympia Press Italia ea Postalmarket, a women’s underwear magazine in vogue between the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, a part is reserved for erotic cinema, where some stars are remembered including Rocco Siffredi. Then we arrive to the digital age with free access to pornographic material through YouPorn and the commodification of the body on OnlyFans.
Limits and controls
The exhibition is can be visited every day from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 1pm and Sunday from 9am to 6pm. Among the various protests, the exhibition has also been defined as “uneducative”, as, contrary to what one might expect, it is not forbidden to children under 18. «Legislative Decree 203 of 17 December 2017 provides that minors between 16 and 18 years old can view pornographic content if accompanied by a parent – explains Vezzaro -. Who accesses at the exhibition you can only do so through reservations on 340 8603748 where age is verified. In the case of minors then the parents must also sign one release where they take responsibility for what their children see. If I have any doubts I always ask for the identity card. Some people had told us that we always dealt with topics that were too heavy. We therefore tried to propose something different, but there is never any shortage of criticism.”
