How do you describe your own art practice?
I would use the words that are on my business card suggested by Simon Njami, “an uncomfortable crack”. These words come from a scholarship by Moleskine foundation and after the project was concluded Mr. Njami asked us to define our practice with different words from “visual artist”. So I thought to the peculiarities of my research and decided to use these words because they explain the difficulty in going deep inside human nature and come back with some fragments that become works of art.
Which question or theme is central in your work?
Since the beginning, my practice has been characterised by a selection of elements borrowed from vernacular architecture while suggesting new sustainable ways of inhabiting our planet. I then started to explore the field of geology, investigating the depth of the earth and how it reflects our human character. Ecology is a theme close to my heart, as through the study of the “Oikos”, I ventured into a thorough state of physical and mental discomfort that I experience as an artist and a human being. Through my work, I try to slip inside the cracks of the unknown and bring to the surface lost fragments of the subconscious lost in the abyss of the human mind. I then link my interests in the concepts of temporality and spatiality to the process of physiological decay and its consequential pain, a sentiment shared by all living things on this planet.
What was your first experience with art?
I started with photography. During the high school I received as a birthday gift an entry level camera and started to take reportage pictures during my trips. Then I decided to go to the academy and study Photography in order to have a deeper understanding and the right technique to work with it. After the bachelor I studied Visual arts and Curatorial studies and with the master degree I moved on to different media than photography.
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
I reckon that humans and more than humans species are the most important source of inspiration, together with geology and two main artists: Robert Smithson and Joseph Beuys.
What do you need in order to create your work?
I would say my life is divided in two different status that are cyclic: a moment in which I feel I am on the same wavelength with what sorrounds me, and a moment in which I feel displaced and confused. This second time is when I am mostly inspired to create a work.
What work or artist has most recently surprised you?
Recently I came across Mari Katayama’s photographic work and it was really astonishing. She deals with a strong handicap and even if her life has been really hard she had the strength to make a highlight of that! This is what makes a great artist to me, having the power to understand what makes us different and work on that. Moreover she talks about taboos and I think that with her art she can help people to accept handicaps and be more open minded.
