The baggage, the path and other 8 titles

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Along the road of life we constantly carry a big baggage, an existential metaphor. It fills up, it empties. If it weighs too much on one side (how much space does the past have? And the future?) it throws us off balance and risks making us fall. Finding the balance is not easy, on this sometimes impervious path. Baggage is multicolored and asymmetrical, it contains burdens and pleasures, memories, pleasant sensations and pain. There are patches, dignifiedly adjacent to the rest but clearly visible, and hidden pockets that blend in with the texture of the weave, representing memories and dreams, falls and possible choices. If the burden is balanced it helps us on the journey and if as we grow we become guardians of what it contains then at the same time we carry the responsibility of an entire civilization on our shoulders.

The girl has a mature look and seems to turn back to say something (this is what Federica's father perceived and I agree with it). She has strong hands but with different attitudes: the first of hers firmly grips the knotty stick, she feels the weight of the house and of her guest and protects them; the second instead delicately holds a book showing its back, she deliberately does not let us understand what it is about, culture and education are together a powerful chest against intolerance and inequalities.

The fox and the robin inhabit our mountains, they are symbols of rebirth and renewal but above all of the need to return to a healthy relationship with nature, often plundered and disfigured. In fact, the fox travels protected by the backpack, the door of the wooden house is too small for the robin and the branch is bare except for the few green leaves next to the girl's hand. The animals look directly at the viewer.

So she is the keeper. The iconography was born from a reflection on the essential role played by young people from all over the world in mobilizations in defense of the environment. A commitment that has become evident and has recently become the subject of public debate. Environmental protection is considered by many young and very young people to be one of the top priorities, as is the fight against poverty and inequality. Everything is compromised, perhaps irreparably, let's try not to be anesthetized by this society which also tells us what to desire.