Caterina: I deal with illustrations. I try to create intimate images, a moment of reflection, a stop from the world that runs fast, so my characters are always represented with their eyes closed. They are resting, almost as if in meditation.
BAO: How did it come about, tell us about episodes in the past related to your passion and your art.
Caterina: I have always done art in various forms since high school: not only with drawing but also through writing, then at the time of the University photography arrived. Today, for work I deal with social media and adv, but specifically this illustration strand was born during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. I had a lot of free time and a lot to say, photographically with the limitations imposed by the lockdown there was little I could do. So I started drawing. Initially it was more pop art and inspired by current events – but always with my eyes closed – then with time it evolved, I perfected the lines, I studied my own style. Personal. Minimal. With well-defined colors. I started with quick sketches from my smartphone, born that way to occupy time, then I bought a tablet and began to work more seriously. I made illustrations for the explosion in Beirut, the fires in California, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and the one in Afghanistan, and eventually I abandoned this social-political thread and began to deal exclusively with feelings and moods. For me today, illustrations represent a real catharsis, I try to put in here all that we often don’t say in words. Some are more personal, others more universal.
BAO: How does your creative process start, what inspires you?
Caterina: As I said, initially I was inspired by current events and all the unpleasant episodes we have experienced worldwide in the last two years. Then I moved to a more intimate and personal side, but with the intent to create universal messages. My illustrations tell a bit about the feelings we all experience but in different ways. I basically take inspiration from photos and images that I happen to see around, but also from places I visit, photograph, the colors of the sky, a sunset.
BAO: Difficulties you encounter today in making your art known and what you need.
Caterina: Surely the greatest difficulty is to emerge. The web has given us the possibility to show ourselves in an open way, to get from here to the other side of the world by pressing a button or using a #. In fact, however, there are so many of us that often not even the most advanced algorithms manage to unite my art with those who could really understand and appreciate it. In short, in the great opportunity that the web has given us, I also perceive a deep dispersion. I think this is the biggest limitation today.
BAO: What relationship do you think authenticity has in artistic creation? How do you live it in your creative process?
Caterina: I used to try to hold myself back in art. I do adv and I know what people like, so I often tried to accommodate the tastes and trends of the moment. But then that art ended up not representing me at all. I threw away so many works over time. Until I literally locked myself in a room, focused on my work and said to myself, what do you want to do, what other people like or what you like? We’re often influenced by trends, especially for those who live a lot on social – like me – but being able to break free from the background noise allows you to fully express yourself and be happy about it even if only because you like it. If it then gets to others, great. But if it doesn’t, that’s okay too!
