when your heart stops beating

A project by Lucia Salgarollo and Mirko Fin.

The project was realized thanks to the expertise of Professor Mauro Delogu from the University of Bologna, Department of Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Wildlife and Exotic Animals Service.

The visual journey aims to allow the viewer to empathize with the body and soul of a wolf.

The idea for this project was born from a phrase by Professor Mauro Delogu: "At some point, in the autopsy, it is as if one could clearly see the soul of the wolf leaving the body and being freed".

The shots represent macro photographs of the inside of a wolf's body. Organs, tissues, muscles, fur and pads of the animal were photographed during an autopsy conducted by Professor Delogu on February 19, 2021.

During post-production, the colors of the images were modified.

We wanted to present the viewer with a new perspective, without shocking their sensitivity with raw and violent images. The protagonist of these photos was not intended to be blood, but the spectacular perfection of the animal's body. A body that breathes, moves, interacts with the surrounding world, and adapts to the harshest situations. A body so perfect it could be deemed sacred, and thus deserving of the utmost respect.

The autopsy from which the images are taken is part of a research project aimed at determining the main causes of mortality for this species in the wild. It was conducted by the Wildlife and Exotic Animals Service of the Department of Medical and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bologna.

Throughout the entire research project, autopsies were performed on 212 wolves found dead in the wild, the results of which were published in a paper titled: "Men and wolves: Anthropogenic causes are an important driver of wolf mortality in human-dominated landscapes in Italy" (Global Ecology and Conservation Volume 32, December 2021, e01892). Professor Mauro Delogu.

If we could put ourselves in the shoes of others, so much that we feel others as if they were us, we would no longer need rules, laws.

Because we would act based on common sense and therefore we would never do anything against someone else whom we would feel as if they were us.”

(P. A. Kropotkin)