Freak Show

Exhibition Design, Milan, 2022

Since its inception, Luna Park delle Varesine was conceived as a temporary and ephemeral “place-holder” – a short-lived architecture that was soon going to be replaced by future real estate developments. Despite its brief trajectory, the complex of Le Varesine has left a mark in everyone’s memory as the go-to place for everyday entertainment. Very little photographic documentation of the place remains to this day. Yet, this gap is filled by the abundance of materials originating from the world of cinema, since the venue was often used as a movie set. After a careful study of numerous feature movies and amateur films, frame by frame, the most iconic bits of Le Varesine come back to life in the exhibition Freak Show as large inflatables resembling the carousels that used to occupy the amusement park.