London

'London' is the new edition of Gian Butturini's 1969 original of the same title. In June 1969, Butturini traveled to London and was instantly captivated by the dynamics of the "Swinging City" in a decade defined by social revolution, freedom of expression, and political controversy. Picking up a camera for the first time, he was drawn to the immediacy of the photographic medium that allowed him to create images through direct encounters with the world, without the need for preliminary drawings or predetermined parameters-a way of working that was radically different from his design work. The resulting black-and-white photographs testify to Butturini's fascination with the darker side of London-the "true, bare" version of the city of the disenfranchised, destitute, and marginalized rather than the bowler hats and the changing of the guards that belonged to the realm of tourism. Disillusionment prevails in the gritty images, which evoke not only the atmosphere in the capital in the late 1960s but also Butturini's own disenchantment with social injustice and discrimination.

It all began in Victoria Station when he saw a young man staggering by with a syringe embedded in a vein. The Tube, pubs, and streets were the stage of a frenzied humanity unseen by the tourists, who were wooed by Piccadilly and Carnaby Street. Butturini recorded shots of everyday life full of pain and sarcasm, but also of joy and lyricism. There was nothing stereotyped, but plenty of irony, a focus on authenticity, and a careful selection of images.