Erika Pezzoli - Artemis

Lotta Bindery 2024

The relationship between humans and hunting is lost in the mists of time: it has transformed over the centuries, starting out as a necessity and becoming a tradition for some families. Carola is the first girl in her family to have a hunting license and is one of the very few female hunters in the Aosta Valley: in fact, only 2% of hunters are women.
Today, hunting has changed profoundly compared to the past: in the Aosta Valley, it is selective hunting, monitored and managed by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Hunting Management Committee and the Forest Rangers, to protect biodiversity.

For Carola, hunting is one of the possible natural closures of the circle of life, choosing to become an active part of the food chain and accepting her role as a predator. Today, a huge number of people regularly consume meat without the need to procure it personally or have any knowledge, passively positioning themselves at the top of the food chain

To procure meat, knowledge of the territory in which you hunt is essential for risk assessment both at the moment of shooting, but also in recovering the animal and in evaluating which path to choose. Mistakes could have a very high price, both for the animal and for the hunter.

Managing an animal once it has been killed requires preparation and knowledge that comes from studies and advice passed down from father to son. Better knowledge means less waste and better preparation of meat and skins.
Carola has an omnivorous diet, but her meat consumption is limited to that of the animals she hunts: deer, chamois and roe deer. This choice, in addition to having a precise ethic, emphasizes the awareness with which Carola operates.

The role of hunter for Carola is the natural position of the human being, linked to habits, precise rituals and the cyclical nature of the seasons, just as it happens for life in the woods: Man is also an animal and as such he also depends on nature.