Rome hosts two exhibitions that approach childhood from opposite perspectives. At Palazzo Merulana, the exhibition How kids roll by Melissa McClaren documents children's lives in conflict zones, with special attention to Gaza, accompanied by poems and photos by Mahmoud Abu Hamda. Simultaneously, the Instituto Cervantes presents Mafalda & La Pimpa, bringing together for the first time the comic strips of Quino and Altan to offer two comedic perspectives of reality.
Technology as a witness and translator of childhood trauma 📸
McClaren's exhibition uses high-resolution visual documentation techniques and digital archiving systems to preserve graphic testimonies of childhood in war. Image processing and audio editing of children's poems require post-production software that ensures contextual fidelity. The exhibition uses interactive touchscreens for viewers to navigate the material, a technical resource that allows deeper exploration of each story without losing the visual impact of Abu Hamda's original works.
Mafalda and La Pimpa: when comics solve what politics cannot 🍪
While in a Roman palace the horrors of childhood war are displayed, at the Cervantes two ink-and-paper girls solve the world with witticisms and comic strips. Mafalda criticizes the system and La Pimpa eats an ice cream. One reminds us that the world is broken; the other, that it doesn't matter because there's always a snack. World peace, apparently, is better negotiated over mortadella sandwiches and existential questions from a six-year-old Argentine girl.