I was born in 1966 in Milan. The troubled relationship between my parents characterized my childhood. The situation did not improve in the following years. Soon I became economically independent and left home: I was a bricklayer’s apprentice, tiler, electrician, I also delivered mineral water at people’ s homes. I lived in the Netherlands as well as in Italy.
I have always thought that problems should be faced. Things hardly get better on their own. Since I was young I have found an important comfort in working on myself. I have been involved in several self-development paths aimed at exploring my deep feelings and desires.
After finishing my studies, following my father’s professional model, I worked in various multinational companies for over 25 years. I became specialized in the optimization of production processes, organizational behavior and professional refocusing. A demanding career, but very rich in interpersonal and nurturing relationships.
In all these years I have dedicated a second soul to visual art, a youthful passion, my dream in the drawer. Digital photography had made learning democratic. Where before it was necessary to invest years to understand framing and timing, shadows and lights, now “a few” months were enough. The economic savings compared to the era of “film and proofs” made it possible to acquire finishing tools and to become authors of the whole process. In 2000 the attic of my house was my first studio. In 2008 I got my first space with a decent meter for my lights (6 Kw three-phase, part of me will always remain an electrician!)
However, work commitments were overwhelming and this soul remained banished from daily life, on weekends and in other spaces “stolen” from work.
When I was able to shoot, my attention was focused on people, who are my main subject. The figure shot is a moment of relationship. It starts much earlier, getting to know each other, acquiring mutual trust, understanding what you want to communicate about the other person, but also about yourself. Then it becomes a dance, the moment in which two artists, the photographer and the subject, merge. The two souls meet to create a unique and unrepeatable message.
It is a moment of mutual understanding and sharing. I couldn’t shoot a reportage or a wedding because there I don’t feel the reciprocity of the relationship. I still remain too much of a witness there.
In 2018, the crisis arrived at the company where I work: they were going to fire 10% of the staff, “a necessary downsizing to maintain competitiveness”. I know the path well, I’ve seen it many times. I am 52 years old and the “professional refocusing” this time is concerning me!
Optimism first and foremost. We’re pretty long-lived in my family, so with a little luck, I’ll pay back my investment in retraining. I’ve got that “dream in the drawer” that hasn’t had enough time to get off the ground yet… Could this be it? So I’m going back to school. For a year I study digital marketing, SEO, professional post production tools. I go out to lunch with my classmates who are half my age… I feel like I’m back in my university years: the future is still to be written!
Today in my artistic projects I express all the sensations and meanings of my path. On the one hand it is the realization of a tangible dream. On the other, I reiterate the path of psychological research conducted in almost 30 years, with a message of release and trust.
Today I have a powerful 32 kw meter… Do I say more?