While walking around the old part of Vieste, an Italian town on the Adriatic coast, I spotted three paste-up collages by Demetrio Di Grado, his “Frammenti Sparsi” (Scattered Fragments)

below: In each collage there were old black and white photos of people with words covering their eyes. This one has not survived very well. I am not sure what word obscures the girl’s eyes (my Italian is not good enough) and it appears that she was not alone in the beginning.

below: Put it all together to get “Cambiate le vostre idee ma conservate i vostri principi.” (Change your ideas but keep your principles).

below: Combining spray paint and collage, “odiao amarmi” – They hate to love me. The little girl in the collage has lost her words, once they were “amano odiarmi” – The love to hate me.

Di Grado’s artwork was part of the local Collateral Maris Festival in September 2022.

Photos taken February 2024