Hylonicum

Light and its residues, by Nicola Polloni

Records

Birrificio Messina

After the closure of Messina’s old industrial brewery, fifteen former workers brought beer production back to the city as a cooperative. This sequence follows that recovery through steel, water, pressure, hands, bottles, and labels. The machines are cold and precise: the place is not. What is recorded here is labour returning to itself after having nearly been taken away.

Stainless steel brewery tanks and reflective metal surfaces inside Birrificio Messina.
Smiling Birrificio Messina worker standing beside stacked boxes of Birra dello Stretto.
Forklift driver inside Birrificio Messina, seen in profile while operating the vehicle.
Worker standing among stainless steel tanks, pipes, and brewing machinery.
Symmetrical view between large brewery tanks, with pipes, supports, and a central machine.
Worker crouching beside a pipe while liquid pours onto the brewery floor.
Worker leaning beside a pipe while liquid flows from the valve onto the floor.
Two Birrificio Messina workers discussing beside a control panel and production equipment.
Worker wearing ear protection operating a touchscreen control panel near brewery tanks.
Man gesturing with his hands inside Birrificio Messina.
Worker seated at a desk behind computer monitors in the brewery office.
Birrificio Messina worker wearing ear protection and looking directly at the camera.
Smiling Birrificio Messina worker seated near pipes and industrial equipment.
Worker in a white coat checking or adjusting brewery equipment among pipes.
Lab worker in a white coat holding up a flask with foaming liquid.
Woman wearing protective glasses standing near machinery in the bottling area.
Close view of bottles moving through the labelling or packaging line.
Rows of empty glass bottles seen from above in the bottling area.
Bottles of Birra dello Stretto moving along the production line, with one labelled bottle in focus.
Close view of capped beer bottles arranged in rows on the bottling line.
Bottles passing beneath packaging or labelling machinery at Birrificio Messina.
Beer bottles seen from above in a cardboard crate, with repeated caps marked with the Birrificio Messina logo.
Packaging area at Birrificio Messina with workers, pallets, stacked materials, and the “Confezionamento” sign.
Tall stacks of packaged Birra dello Stretto boxes arranged in the storage area.
Two Birrificio Messina workers standing together in front of stainless steel tanks.
Birrificio Messina worker inspecting or holding a bottle near a refrigerator.

Places and dates
Messina, 2026.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to SFM for the great opportunity of shooting the Birrificio.