1998
Gwenola Gabellec
Franco Zecchin, keeping an eye on the mafia
For those who visited the Le Noir et le Bleu exhibition at the Mucem in Marseille, these images remain etched in their minds. These black-and-white photographs depict the mafia that has its roots in the Mediterranean. Their author, Franco Zecchin, lived in Palermo during those dark years. His photographs intensely highlight this cruel world.
Now based in Marseille, Franco Zecchin is working on other projects (notably around the GR 2013). For La Provence, he recalls—with his superb Italian accent—Sicily in the 1970s and 1980s.
How did you get into photography?
Out of intellectual curiosity. I became interested in theater, which is how I ended up in Palermo from Milan. I took photos for the local newspaper. Palermo is a city where you can't remain indifferent; it forces you to take a stand. As a photojournalist, I was immediately confronted with its violence. To stay, you had to be really motivated!
What memories do you have of that time? How did you work?
It was the very beginning of the second Mafia war, and the Corleone clan was launching a strategy of terror against its rivals and anyone who got in its way. I immediately realized that I couldn't just stand by and watch. With a group of friends, we created an anti-Mafia movement that gained momentum after the assassination of Giuseppe Impastato (on May 9, 1978). It was unacceptable, so we got together to have the investigation reopened. From then on, we decided that the only way to fight back was through information.
So what did you do?
We had photography, a direct and universal language that can touch everyone. In the press, these images were scattered, day after day. We thought that a street exhibition would have more impact. The strategy was to create a counterculture, to dismantle the clichés of Sicilian society that presuppose either that the Mafia does not exist or that it protects against the predatory state.
How were your actions received?
It created a shock. People at the time were afraid to speak publicly. We sought to break that taboo. Today, we could no longer do this work...
Why?
The mafia's sick excesses forced the state to react, and it changed its strategy...
Benedetto Grado's wife and daughters at the scene of his murder. The family is already in mourning following the murder of their son Antonio. Palermo, 1983. ©Franco Zecchin
Were you worried?
At the time, I was working quite instinctively, under pressure... We received threats and even went to see Judge Falcone to ask his advice. We tried to calm down for a while.
In your images, we sense this atmosphere, something to do with tragedy...
I come from a theater background, and although I never direct plays, I think that has played a role in how I see reality as a stage. Sicily has a cultural heritage that comes from Greece, and there is a tragicomic spirit in all aspects of daily life.
Do you see a connection between the violence of yesterday in Palermo and that of today in Marseille?
In the years of the French Connection, yes. Today, you really can't compare the two. What gives the mafia its power is people's resignation. And what really changes between France and Italy is the relationship between citizens and the state: here, there is a bond of trust that doesn't exist there.
How do you view today's anti-Mafia movements?
The Mafia was born in Sicily, but so were the anti-Mafia movements! Racketeering exists here, but there is no organization against it... Since we exported the Mafia, perhaps we can also export these practices and knowledge. To fight organized crime, citizens need to organize themselves.