Pig’s secret life

by Ilaria Ferretti

“When a pig was slaughtered, nothing, from the entire animal was thrown away”. Pigs accompanied human history since acient time. The peasant world is full of memories related to this animal, because it played in the farm a different part than the other animals. It has always been very close to man: pigpens were usually placed near the house of the peasant; moreover man and pigs are both omnivores, and the peasant used to feed the pigs with the scraps of their own meals. The day when the pig was killed was a day of mourning (because the animal was part of the family) and a day of party at tha same time (because thanks to the numerous products derived from the animal, family had food for about one year). Even if today the rural world seems so far away, and the rearing system has moved away from the family use, every single part of this animal is reused. That animal, which once allowed a small community to survive, is part of products spread all over Europe. Paint brush, soap, cork, crayons, shampoo, liquorice, marshmallow... those are just few of the products derived from pork. The project aims to show the evolution of this specific popular culture, which has grown from a local to a global reality. Throught iconographic images, home movies and new images the author will try to describe the changes of this important tradition.

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