The fourth exhibition of my project was held in Mesagne at the Di Vittorio Cultural Association.  On this occasion I displayed the works that made up the exhibition Towards the East, together with those from the exhibition I Am You, which formed the connection between the story of my experience of travelling to the East and that of Marco Polo.

This exhibition explored the reasons for embarking on immersive journeys in contexts different from one's own. On such journeys, it is essential to cultivate a respectful curiosity, to be able to look, to be accepted, to mix with new cultures in order to understand much more about others and then to be able to recount one's experiences more faithfully. All this offers the opportunity to bring the voice of those who often have no voice back into the context in which one lives, and to tell a more authentic story, beyond the sensational news and stereotypes that are usually told about the civil society of those distant places. One example is Marco Polo, who wrote a faithful account of his twenty-four-year journey to the East in his book 'The Million'.

Vulnerability has been discussed as a state we find ourselves in when we allow the other person to get to know us. Showing who we really are makes us vulnerable to a person who knows us, because there is a risk that they will use the information they get to hurt us. The degree of vulnerability a person is exposed to depends on the context they are in and what they are saying about themselves.

Westerners have the privilege of being able to travel anywhere without running the risk of becoming vulnerable because of their somatic characteristics or because of what they say about their origins. The state of mind of the traveler from East to West, on the other hand, is completely different from that of the traveler from West to East. Having somatic characteristics that differ from those of the West, or the mere fact of sharing a place of origin, can be grounds for discrimination. Travelling west therefore predisposes those who start from the east to a more vulnerable state than those who make the opposite journey. Those born in the West enjoy the privilege of being able to go anywhere without being discriminated against, and are often unaware of the unspoken vulnerability of those who come from the East and are confronted with the Western mentality.

During my trip to the East, I never felt vulnerable in showing who I was; I was always welcomed and liked by everyone. I appreciated so much being welcomed into the homes of the people who hosted me, because they showed me all their trust by being themselves in their most intimate environment, without filters or fears.