Chi sono quelle bellissime creature femminili sospese in un limbo di denso mistero, abitanti sensuali di atmosfere oniriche che rendono palpitanti con la loro aristocratica perfezione corporea, imbrigliate in un silenzio ammiccante, carnali e algide così in posa dentro quel lontano mondo di favola?
Eppure così delicate e reali, come lievissimi petali di rosa sparigliati nell’aria. Come in un intrigante gioco di specchi, la loro identità è irrimediabilmente allacciata a quella della loro autrice: Natalie Shau, Lituana di Vilnius, giovane e già parecchio meritatamente famosa per il suo talento artistico spiccatamente digitale, che abbraccia anche la fotografia.
“Beh, sono un’artista digitale che crea ritratti femminili surreali: il mio lavoro è molto femminile e romantico, con delle sfumature più oscure e tracce quasi sinistre; tuttavia i soggetti dei miei ritratti sono anche molto “girly”, da ragazza, e fragili. Da persona reale, io probabilmente sono più realista ed ho molti altri interessi oltre all’arte e alla moda: come le armi, la storia e la geopolitica. Credo che il mio lato romantico e quello realistico si equivalgano, sono entrambi parti della mia individualità e del mio carattere.”
Come per ogni vero talento, la formazione di Natalie è fatta della stessa materia della vocazione, cresciuta e rafforzata con la dovuta educazione tecnica: “Sono sempre stata appassionata di arte, da che ho ricordi: quindi non so spiegare come io ci sia entrata, immagino per una questione di natura. Ho frequentato molte lezioni d’arte a scuola, ho anche preso alcune lezioni private di disegno di tanto in tanto. Ma in termini di arte digitale e fotografia, ho imparato tutto quello che so da sola e con l’aiuto di alcuni amici: oggi, grazie ad internet puoi trovare così tanti tutorial, che puoi imparare qualcosa di nuovo praticamente ogni giorno!”
Ebbene, chi sono quelle fanciulle ammalianti e arcane, immerse in mondi visionari e abbigliate con cura meticolosa fin nel dettaglio più stiloso? Da dove provengono e che racconti serbano? “I miei soggetti sono eroine fiabesche, angeli caduti, regine esiliate ed anime perdute. Sono molto ispirata dalla moda! Stilisti come Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier e molti altri. La maggior parte delle mie protagoniste è vestita in modo piuttosto complesso, così che possa far loro esprimere i loro sentimenti e stati emotivi non solo attraverso le espressioni del viso e dalla posa, ma anche grazie agli abiti e allo stile. Traggo ispirazione da tutte le arti: pittura, letteratura, cinema, musica. Ma anche dalla natura. Ache i miei sentimenti e desideri privati possono ispirarmi nella creazione delle opere: talvolta faccio sogni così vividi che devo includerli nelle mie immagini.”
È un confine poroso quello tra sogno e realtà: l’uno fluisce nell’altra, si scambiano e si sdoppiano al di là di quel velo di illusione steso dai pennelli digitali di Natalie. Ma al di qua del velo la sua visione sulla nostra dimensione di vita si fa ben netta: “penso che il mondo sia un posto bellissimo, meraviglioso e orribile allo stesso tempo. La gente è così tanto assorbita dalle cose materiali che dimentica della compassione e della gentilezza, o anche solo della semplice consapevolezza.”
Una visione che diventa consiglio inaspettato se interrogata sul tema corrente di questo numero di Hachi, “Imitation of life”: “i social media, ecco cosa mi viene immediatamente in mente. Credo di non dover spiegare il perché. I social media hanno invaso la nostra vita e le persone ne sono diventate schiave. Credo che ognuno dovrebbe prendersi dei giorni liberi da internet anche solo per ragioni terapeutiche. Haha!”
[ENGL.]
Who are those beautiful female creatures hung in a limbo dense with mystery, sensual inhabitants of dreamlike atmospheres that they make throbbing by their aristocratic body perfection, harnessed within an alluring silence, carnal but detached by striking a pose inside that faraway fairy world; still, so delicate and real, as faint rose petals scattered in the air? As in an intriguing game of mirrors, their identity is firmly fastened to that of their author: Natalie Shau, Lithuanian from Vilnius, young and already deservedly renowned for her artistic talent, that is digital-based while embracing also photography. “Well, I’m a digital artist who creates surreal female portraits: my work is very feminine and romantic, with some darker undertone and creepy twist; however my portrait subjects are also very girly and fragile. As a real person, I’m probably more realistic and I have many more different interests apart from art and fashion: such as weapons, history and geopolitics. I think my romantic and realistic sides are both equal parts of my individuality and character.”
As for every real talent, Natalie’s education is made of the same substance as the vocation, grown and strengthen by a proper technical training: “I was always into art since I can remember: so I cannot explain how I am into it, I guess it’s some natural trait I have got. I had very extensive art classes in school, I also took some private drawing classes from time to time. But in terms of digital art and photography, I’ve learned everything I know by myself and with some friends’ help: nowadays, thanks to internet you can find so many tutorials about it, so you can learn something new almost everyday!”
Well, so, who are those charming and arcane women, plunged into visionary worlds and dressed with meticulous stylish care? Where are they from and what tales do they hold? “My subjects are fairytale heroines, fallen angels, banished queens and lost souls. I’m very much inspired by fashion! Designers like Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and many more. Most of my characters are dressed pretty intricate, so that I express their feelings and emotional state not only through facial expressions and posture, but also by clothing and style. I draw inspiration from all the arts: painting, literature, cinema, music. And nature as well. My own feelings and dreams can also inspire me to create artworks: sometimes I dream such vivid dreams that I just have to include them into my images.”
There’s a porous boundary lying between dream and reality: one flows into the other, they double beyond the veil of illusion spread by Natalie’s digital brushes. But on this side of the veil, her vision about our life dimension turns to be very neat: “I think the world is a beautiful, wonderful and horrible place at the same time. People are so much absorbed by material things that they forget about compassion and kindness, or just simple awareness.” A vision that becomes an unexpected, quite profane yet redeeming piece of advice when Natalie is asked about the theme of this current Hachi issue “Imitation of life”: “Social media: that's what comes to my mind immediately. I think I do not need to explain a lot why. Social media just invaded our lives and people become slaves of it. I think every person should get internet free days just for therapeutic reasons. Haha!” And maybe, they might have some rest in your enchanting pop surreal wonderland, we would add!
A voler essere critici ortodossi bisognerebbe parlar delle sue opere come “iperrealismo emotivo”.
A volersi abbandonare voluttuosamente al piacere nonchalant (disinvolto) di spettatori appassionati: la prima, istintiva e irrefrenabile definizione che la sua arte suscita è… “just wow!”
Mike Dargas, classe 1983, nato e tuttora abitante a Colonia, fotografa volti dipingendo, o anche dipinge ritratti fotografici: ferma il tempo in un istante eterno in cui immergersi, per esplorare la materia dolce che fluisce sui sensi. E li accarezza tutti, uno ad uno. Pura questione di wow-effect!
[ENGL.]
Upon an orthodox critical approach we should talk about his art pieces as “emotional hyperrealism”. Upon the voluptuous abandonment to the mellow pleasure as passionate viewers: the first, instinctive and irrepressible definition that his art raises will be… “just wow!” Mike Dargas, born in Cologne in 1983 and still living there, takes pictures of faces by painting, or even paints photographic portraits: he freezes time within an everlasting moment where you can plunge into, to explore the sweet material that flows on the senses. And caresses them all, one by one. It’s a pure wow-effect!
Aware of how wide and multitasking the experience of “wearing” the label “artist” is supposed to be: what’s your artistic identity? But first and foremost, what’s your real identity behind the artist?
I was an artist before I had an identity.
Tell us something about your “background”: when and how did you feel that art would have been your expressive way? What was your personal and educational path to achieve it?
I started paining as a child. Every time my friends were playing soccer, I was doing sketches, paintings or went to the museums on my own. I absorbed works of the Old Masters, like Caravaggio and others. Their brilliant techniques thrilled me and I tried to enhance my skills every day to become as good as them. I was obsessed. Even in my previous career as a tattoo artist I studied realistic figuration and did realistic portraits. I would describe myself as an autodidact that has studied art for a life time.
What kind of imagery and experiences do you draw the inspiration for your artworks from? Is there a boundary line between life and work, or it is so faint that you become part of your works too?
Every day is filled with inspiration. Sometimes it´s just a glimpse of something that strikes my eye and turns into an idea for my paintings. So, of course my works somehow are connected with what surrounds me. At the same time it reflects the inner attitude or development of an artist.
Your artworks are characterized by intense portraits, so charged with realism that they seem to titillate all our senses: who are these “protagonists” and what significance or tales do you commit to them? What visions are held into your artworks?
I think my work has different layers that each viewer sees differently. Some might just see beautiful women, some might see an erotic motif and others might see a deeper meaning. In the end it is more about what a work moves within the viewer, not what I had on my mind while paining it. I am thankful that people want to see my art, that´s by far the greatest reward of all.
If I say “imitation of life” (the theme of this Hachi Mag issue n.d.r.): what comes into your mind?
My paintings are a snapshot, an imitation of life, holding on to something I find interesting. I think it is very human to try capturing beautiful moments.
Le creazioni CO|TE si riconoscono con la stessa immediatezza intensa di un’epifania, estetica e allo stesso tempo tattile: lo spirito romantico che è una carezza per il desiderio, il minimalismo tenue ma concreto che è un mantra di purezza da cospargere di stampe e decorazioni sorprendenti.
La geometria poetica, questa è la firma dei CO|TE.
Un appeal prezioso, tattile e discreto, lo stesso che guida il pensiero creativo di Tomaso Anfossi e Francesco Ferrari: menti e anime del marchio Made in Italy che, nel fiore della sua giovinezza già pienamente applaudita, percorre la via rivolta alla fama internazionale.
Raccontateci di voi e del vostro background: quando è avvenuto il primo vero incontro con la moda e come è diventata la vostra strada professionale?
LA moda in qualche modo è sempre stata parte integrante del nostro percorso ed è diventata la nostra passione in primis e poi anche il nostro lavoro. L’arte in genere ci ha sempre affascinati e le nostre esperienze ci hanno poi portato a scegliere la moda per esprimere noi stessi e ciò che pensiamo sia una visione contemporanea della donna di oggi. Il primo incontro è avvenuto già da piccoli: entrambi avevamo amicizie nel campo della moda che ci hanno avvicinato a questo mondo e abbiamo avuto la possibilità di immergerci tra i laboratori, l’odore della pelle e i colori dei tessuti.
Come, perché e con quale visione di stile nasce CO | TE?
CO|TE nasce dall’idea di due giovani ragazzi di creare e presentare una moda vista appunto da due occhi giovani e irriverenti pronti a mischiare forme colori e volumi proponendoli a una donna cosmopolita sicura di sé che ama giocare con la moda e non esserne succube.
Il proprio mondo creativo è istintivo, l’estetica è una visione personale, i materiali sono sperimentazione e l’imprenditorialità è necessaria: in cosa consistono e come accade l’armonia di questi elementi nella vostra moda?
In questo periodo storico un designer non può essere semplicemente uno stilista ma deve capire che bisogna affrontare un mercato in cui l’offerta è molto ampia, per questo noi caratterizziamo ogni nostro capo rendendolo unico di per sé ma allo stesso tempo creando un’armonia con gli altri capi della collezione. L’idea è quella di dare forza a ogni singolo pezzo in modo che la donna che lo indossa possa sentirsi unica e differente creando un look che rappresenti al meglio al nostra visione fatta di ricerca, Made in italy e carattere.
Raccontateci l’ultima collezione CO | TE: da quale ispirazione proviene e in che modo prende materialmente forma nelle creazioni?
Le nostre collezioni partono sempre dal confronto tra di noi, la ricerca di ispirazioni che vadano al di fuor della moda è di basilare importanza per noi come del resto la ricerca dei tessuti e dei dettagli che possono caratterizzare ogni singolo pezzo. L’ amore per la botanica si può vedere osservando le nostre stampe e l’uso che facciamo del colore sovverte i canoni soliti che vedono un inverno scuro e un estivo total white. Per noi l’utilizzo del colore abbinato alla scelta di tessuti che mantengano le proporzioni pensate durante la progettazione della collezione è ciò che permette a CO|TE di essere CO|TE.
Un nome all’interno e uno al di fuori del fashion world con cui vi piacerebbe collaborare?
Creare i costumi per un film di Wes Anderson
La bellezza salverà il mondo, celebre citazione con dentro una verità per chi fa moda: qual è il vostro ideale di bellezza?
Non esiste un univoco ideale di bellezza, la bellezza sta negli occhi di chi guarda quindi la bellezza è personale e prescinde dalle mode del momento! La bellezza è qualcosa che va oltre il tempo!
Se vi dicessimo "Imitation of life" (tema di questo numero di Hachi n.d.r.): voi a cosa pensereste?
Essendo entrambi degli appassionati cinefili penseremmo a Lana Turner nel film “Imitation of life”
Tra i riconoscimenti ottenuti e i sogni squisitamente personali: quali sono i progetti per il futuro?
Ora siamo in procinto di partire per il Giappone, paese che amiamo, nel futuro ci piacerebbe crescere anche nel mercato Americano che inizia a darci soddisfazioni e viaggiare per avere sempre gli occhi della mente ben aperti proponendo così qualcosa di sempre nuovo e che ci permetta di burattare sempre il cuore oltre l’ostacolo.
[ENGL]
CO|TE creations can be identified by the same poignant immediacy as an epiphany, aesthetic and tactile together: the romantic esprit that is a caress for desire, the mild yet concrete minimalism of the shapes that is a mantra of purity to sprinkle with surprising prints and embellishments. The poetic geometry, that is CO|TE signature. A precious, contemporary tactful appeal, the same that leads the creative thought of Tomaso Anfossi and Francesco Ferrari: minds and souls of the Made in Italy brand that, in the prime of its youth already fully awarded, is en route to the international fame.
Tell us about yourselves and your background: when did the very first encounter with fashion happen and how did it become your professional way?
In some ways, fashion has always been an integral part of our path: it became our passion at first, and then also our job. We’ve always been fascinated by art in general, and then our experiences led us to choose fashion in order to express ourselves and what we believe is a contemporary vision of today woman. Our first encounter happened when we were younger: both of us had some relationships within the fashion field that brought us closer to this world, and so we had the chance to plunge into laboratories, among the smell of leather and the colors of fabrics.
How, why and with what style vision was your label CO|TE born?
CO|TE comes from the idea of two young boys about creating and featuring a kind of fashion just seen by two young and profane eyes, ready to blend forms, colors and volumes, and to offer them to a cosmopolitan woman, self confident and that loves playing with fashion, not being a victim of it.
Your own creative world is instinctual, beauty is a personal point of view, materials are the issue of experimentations and entrepreneurship is essential: what do these elements entail and how does their harmony happen in your fashion?
At this historical moment a designer can’t simply be a fashion designer, but he has to understand that it’s necessary to face a market where there’s a great range of supply; that’s the reason why we characterize every single item making it unique, and at the same time we create harmony among all the clothes of a collection. The concept is to give strength to every single piece, so that every woman that wears it may feel different and unique, creating a look that represents at its best our vision made of research, Made in Italy and personality.
Describe your last collection: what kind of inspiration does it originate from and how does this imagery take tangibly form within the creations?
Our collections always start from the exchange of ideas between us: the search for inspirations going beyond fashion is of great importance for us, as well as the search for fabrics and details that could typify every single piece. You can feel our love for botany by watching our prints, while our use of colors subverts the usual rules saying that winter is dark and that summer means total white. We believe that our choice of colors matched with the choice of fabrics, that maintain the properly designed proportions conceived for the collection, is what makes CO|TE unique.
One name outside the fashion world you would love to work with?
We’d love to create the costumes for a Wes Anderson’s movie.
Beauty will save the world, a renowned quote holding some truth for those who create fashion: what is your ideal about beauty?
There’s no a single unequivocal ideal of beauty: beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so beauty is personal and is independent of the temporary fashion trends. Beauty goes beyond time!
If I say “imitation of life” (the theme of this Hachi Mag issue n.d.r.): what comes into your mind?
Since we’re both great lovers of cinema, we’ll think about Lana Turner in “Imitation of life” movie.
Among the accolades received and the exquisitely personal dreams: what are your projects for the future?
Now we’re about to leave for Japan, a country that we really love, and in the future we’d love to grow also within the American market from which we’ve started getting great satisfactions. We’d also love to travel, in order to always keep the eyes open and therefore to propose something always new, that lets us do our best putting heart and soul into it.
Nelle sue opere scompare, anziché comparire: lui è uno che si annulla in nessuno per poi diventare tutti. Fonde l’arte nella vita e ne fa poesia.
Scomoda i grandi protagonisti della cultura di ogni tempo, icone storiche e leggende antiche, temi importanti e vita di tutti i giorni: ibrida i linguaggi in un pastiche visivo che alla fine porta anche l’osservatore a porsi più di un paio di domande inaspettate sulla propria identità.
E una volta compiuta questa missione, Alexandre Mury prosegue in un nuovo inizio la sua instancabile ricerca.
[ENGL.]
Within his artworks he disappears, rather than appearing: he is one that vanishes into nobody for then becoming everybody. He merges art into life and makes poetry of it. He brings the great protagonists of every culture, historic and contemporary icons, important themes and everyday life into it: he hybridizes the languages into a visual pastiche that finally brings the viewer too into asking himself more than a couple of questions. And once this mission is accomplished, Alexandre Mury continues on his own unceasing research…
Aware of how wide and multitasking the experience of wearing the label “Artist” is supposed to be: what’s your artistic identity? And what’s your real identity behind the artist?
During my childhood I was told that I was an artist: at school, when I was only two years old, one of my teachers called me “my Van Gogh”. I loved it so much that, since then, I’ve been trying to enhance it for all my life: and the thing I loved most about Van Gogh was not just his painting in itself, but the fact that he had been making lots of self-portraits.
Tell us something about your background: when and how did you feel that art would have been your expressive way? What was your personal and educational path to achieve it?
There are no artists in my family: my parents are artisans, a dressmaker and a carpenter. I grew up among the tools and I developed manual skills: making up things has always been fun for me. I graduated in Social Communication, I haven’t received any artistic education, but my passion for art turned me into a compulsive researcher.
What kind of imagery and experiences do you draw the inspiration for your artworks from? Is there a boundary line between life and work, or, as it seems from your artworks, it is so faint that you become part of your works too?
I work all the time: the daily life inspires me aesthetic and philosophical meditations. It’s a double-way approach, deconstructing and rebuilding the idea of identity and identification. Within my work, I don’t see myself as an individual, yet as a social being. Maybe this aesthetic experience of my work raises the idea that everything is performance: yet, it’s a whole blend of lots of artistic possibilities involving sculpture, drawing, painting, installation and photography. It’s a hybrid structure, a process where the whole idea comes from this multiple ego, in pieces.
In your artworks you assume, almost wear, various identities, they’re like quotes from renowned references: who are these “protagonists” and what significance or tales do you commit to them? What visions are held into and offered by your artworks?
Let’s talk about iconography, representation, originality, aesthetics and temporality of art. The “Tableau vivant” is less important: it’s a game of references, suggesting also a little freedom of interpretation. Actually, my work just aims at stating the ambiguity: the need for rebooting everything, the world, the things, time, space, ourselves, and art.
Living, looking at and narrating reality armed with the twisting filter of imagination: according to you, what values does “being creative” hold and act for? How is the world watched by Alexandre Mury?
Nobody creates starting from nothing. I’m a very curious person and I always try to experience new combinations: between the body language and the cultural values, representing a dialogue without representation, calling into question the taming of the glance. I think that the ideas are always moving, so an object doesn’t look the same every time we look at it. Putting myself in the place of another is a practice of self-awareness. I live art. These symbolic swaps happen also as emotional swaps: I draw life as an endless poem … everything can be art and I think I can turn everything into poetry.
If I say “imitation of life” (the theme of this Hachi Mag issue n.d.r.): what comes into your mind?
I recall the poem “Autopsychography”, by the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, a passage of which says:
(The poet is a faker.
He Fakes it so completely,
He even fakes he's suffering
The pain he's really feeling.)
