In 2009/2010 the Taliban in Afghanistan seemed a danger removed, and the more evolved women were included in a new society where they could study, work, move and dress as they wished. The obscurantism of the burqa seemed to be buried. Forever. Instead… 

The cover of DRepubblica of February the 5th dramatically invites us not to forget what is happening now, after the first indignant reactions of the West. With the usual prophetic eye that looks beyond the present, through the lens of art, ten years ago Flavio Lucchini reflected on that burqa heritage of the past...

In 2009/2010 the Taliban in Afghanistan seemed a danger removed, and the more evolved women were included in a new society where they could study, work, move and dress as they wished. The obscurantism of the burqa seemed to be buried. Forever. Instead… 

The cover of DRepubblica of February the 5th dramatically invites us not to forget what is happening now, after the first indignant reactions of the West. With the usual prophetic eye that looks beyond the present, through the lens of art, ten years ago Flavio Lucchini reflected on that burqa heritage of the past, imagining improbable fusions with fashion (see later Dolce & Gabbana with the collection of luxurious abayas), paging impossible covers of opinion magazines, reproducing faceless veiled portraits with their names written that did not correspond to any recognizable face.
His digital works, a mix of tragedy and irony, were exhibited at the 2011 Venice Art Biennale. Today, in the changed political situation of the country and of the Afghan women’s life, those images have a bitter, prescient taste. Just like the cover of DRepubblica has. Reality is reflected in art, and vice-versa. Coincidences that deserve a reflection.