[Text available only in English] The wolf, a symbol of Italian wildlife, was once on the verge of extinction. After years of protection and reintroduction, its presence is now considered “excessive” by humans. On 31 October 2024, the Italian Senate approved a law known as DDL Montagna, nicknamed DDL Ammazzalupi (“Wolfkiller”) by environmental associations, giving the green light to its hunting.
A robotic voice reads the text of the law while images of wolves filmed by camera traps, combined with sequences from Red Dead Redemption 2, appear on screen. The wolf, exterminated and later reintroduced, is once again hunted without ever questioning the system that condemns it. But when he unmasks the eye observing him, the gaze of control expands beyond nature: it crosses the virtual world and returns to reality, where humans, increasingly alienated, are watched by webcams, CCTV and smartphones.
The return of the tree’s gaze closes the circle: who is watching whom? Technology is not separate from nature but an extension of our instincts, yet we continue to perceive ourselves as detached entities. Ammazzalupi exposes this illusion, revealing how the attempt to civilize and suppress animal instinct only fuels a more blind and destructive violence.
