Pamela Dodds
VISUAL ARTIST
Through the Prism of Borders. The book.
Includes a folio of 9 reproductions of prints and texts from Documenting Border Barriers.
Publisher: Kunstverein (Milano)
Documenting Border Barriers at the Monument to Victory
Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, Italy
November 15, 2025 through February 7, 2026
The installation is in the crypt below Mussolini’s massive Monument to Victory, built in 1926-28, in celebration of Italy’s annexation of the region of South Tyrol from Austria after World War I, and intended as a gateway to the planned Italian city the dictator built to the west of the site.
The monument has been an ongoing source of controversy in this ethno-linguistically diverse region of German-, Italian-, and Ladin-speaking residents since its construction, resulting in frequent divisive arguments, demonstrations and violent threats. South Tyrol currently officially recognises all 3 languages.
In 2014, regional politicians and the Italian Ministry of Culture created a permanent historical exhibition to contextualize the site, titled BZ ‘18_’45, one monument, one city, two dictatorships. The exhibition has served to calm tensions. This historical exhibition left one space untouched, a symbolic crypt with an arched ceiling, adorned with frescos and inscriptions.
The installation of Documenting Border Barriers is the first time that an exhibition has been allowed to be presented in this space, and the first contemporary artwork ever presented in the monument.
The inscription above the installation reads:
OPTIMA HAEREDITAS GLORIA VIRTUTIS RERUMQUE GESTARUM
The most beautiful inheritance is the glory of virtue and heroic acts.
~ attributed to Roman statesman, orator, philosopher, Cicero.
The two heroic figures represent the Custodian of the Fatherland and the Custodian of History.
There is also an inscription on the wall opposite the installation which reads:
DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI
It is sweet and glorious to die for the fatherland.
~attributed to Roman poet, Horace
Documenting Border Barriers is presented as a part of Through the Prism of Borders, which includes the work of 7 artists presenting installations/interventions at historic buildings throughout the city. Through the Prism of Borders is curated by Katia Anguelova, Angelika Burtscher and Marion Oberhofer, and produced by Lungomare, a platform for design and cultural production.
Artists: Pamela Dodds, Esra Ersen, Missirkov/Bogdanov, Ivan Moudov, Karin Schmuck, ZimmerFrei (Anna de Manincor)
Through the Prism of Borders is Lungomare’s contribution to B-Shapes – Borders Shaping Perceptions of European Societies, a Horizon Europe research and innovation project, funded by the European Union with additional supporters, aimed at exploring the role of borders in shaping perceptions of societies, culture, heritage, and belonging. This installation of Documenting Border Barriers is supported in part by The Canada Council for the Arts.
Lungomare also published a book early in 2025 titled, Through the Prism of Borders. The book concludes in its final pages with a folio of reproductions of 9 prints and texts from Documenting Border Barriers.