Gian Butturini: From London to Free Derry, curated by Gigliola Foschi and promoted by the Associazione Gian Butturini, is an exhibition in defence of freedom of speech, image and thought. It stands against a form of cancel culture that, without dialogue or discussion, led in the UK to the withdrawal of the photographic book London by Gian Butturini (Damiani, 2017 reprint of the 1969 edition) and to the misrepresentation of an author who dedicated his life to opposing racism and injustice.

The exhibition presents a selection of the most significant photographs from Butturini’s work on late-1960s London and on the Troubles in Northern Ireland — a conflict he documented just one week after Bloody Sunday in January 1972.

The show is further enriched by works from the 1970s in which Butturini — also a graphic designer and interior architect — intervenes on comic imagery with bold colours and critical inscriptions. In these pieces, figures such as Batman and Superman become symbols of counterculture, subverting dominant narratives. Their presence in the exhibition helps to illuminate the same ironic and critical approach underlying the book London.

London by Gian Butturini
The deliberately provocative structure of London later became the source of a major misunderstanding. The book, now no longer distributed through standard channels, can be purchased through the gallery or the Associazione Gian Butturini.

It is a revolutionary work both in content and form. It portrays London in the late 1960s from an unfiltered perspective: young people of the Swinging London scene, immigrants, Black communities, the marginalised, and the financial elite of the City. The layout is equally radical: images are cropped, darkened, juxtaposed with graphic signs and texts — from the Gospel of Luke to Allen Ginsberg — creating powerful visual and conceptual contrasts.

The controversy
A central diptych — juxtaposing the portrait of a Black woman in a glass booth with that of a gorilla in a London zoo — was conceived by Butturini as a denunciation of all forms of social and racial segregation. As he wrote, both subjects are confined: one within the invisible prison of routine labour, the other within the zoo.

Decades later, this pairing was misinterpreted as racist, sparking a social media backlash during the Black Lives Matter period. The controversy led Martin Parr, who had supported the 2017 reprint, to step down from the Bristol Photo Festival and to request the withdrawal of the book.

Bloody Sunday and Northern Ireland
Butturini’s commitment to documenting injustice is equally evident in Dall’Irlanda dopo Londonderry, a reportage capturing the aftermath of Bloody Sunday. Amid barricades, barbed wire, armed soldiers and burnt cars, he also portrays with empathy the lives of children — innocent victims growing up in conflict and deprivation.

Biography
Gian Butturini (1935–2006) was an international photojournalist and a multifaceted artist of communication. He began his career in Brescia as a designer and interior architect.

In 1969 he published London by Gian Butturini, reissued in 2017 by Damiani with a foreword by Martin Parr. He authored around forty photographic books, including Cuba 26 Luglio, Tu Interni Io Libero (with Franco Basaglia), and C’era una volta il Muro.

His works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Barbican Centre in London, Manchester Art Gallery and Somerset House (Photo London 2018). As a filmmaker, he produced documentaries such as Crimini di Pace (with music by Luigi Nono) and Bologna, 10.15 strage, as well as the award-winning feature Il Mondo degli Ultimi.

Today, his legacy is promoted by the Associazione Gian Butturini.

Il Resto del Carlino – Bologna 26 marzo 2021
La Repubblica – Bologna 27 marzo 2021
Corriere della Sera – Bologna 30 marzo 2021
Corriere della Sera – Bologna 26 maggio 2021
Discorsi Fotografici 31 marzo 2021
Immaginare dal vero 31 marzo 2021
Espoarte 1 aprile 2021
Gente di fotografia (numero 76) maggio 2021

Gian Butturini
From London to free Derry

27 March > 12 June 2021

The book London by Gian Butturini is available at the gallery

27 March 7 pm
Live opening
GUARDALA QUI

7 April 9 pm
Approfondimento sulla mostra con:
Laura De Marco, lecturer, founder of Spazio Labò, Bologna
Gianluca Cettineo, writer, author of books on Ireland
Daniele De Luigi, curator, Fondazione Modena Arti Visive
Gigliola Foschi, curator of the exhibition
Marta and Tiziano Butturini, Associazione Gian Butturini
Jacopo Cenacchi, founder of Galleria Studio Cenacchi
GUARDALO QUI

25 May 11 am
The world of images and cancel culture, with:
Martin Parr (written contribution)
Matteo Bergamini, journalist, editor-in-chief of Exibart
Marta and Tiziano Butturini, Associazione Gian Butturini
Giuseppe Culicchia, writer
Denis Curti, artistic director, Casa dei Tre Oci
Gigliola Foschi, curator of the exhibition
Federico Montaldo, lawyer and photography critic
Jacopo Cenacchi, founder of Galleria Studio Cenacchi
GUARDALO QUI

GALLERIA STUDIO CENACCHI
Via Santo Stefano 63
40125 Bologna

OPENING HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday: 4.30–7.30 pm
Monday: by appointment
Sunday: closed