THE WONDER WORLD OF BLACKELEPHANT AC

WOULD YOU TELL US WHAT WERE YOUR BEGINNINGS? WHAT LED YOU TO 3D WORLD?

It all started when I was an adolescent surrounding myself with magazines and newspapers from which I would detach pages and cut out elements to recompose them into maxi collages that gave life to imaginary worlds; thence, growing up I went in search of those techniques that led me to generate my worlds to bring them to life in the reality that is now my own life.

WHERE DO YOU GET INSPIRATION FROM?

I can find inspiration everywhere. Moreover, in everyday life I like to imagine how something very simple or natural can be enriched with additional meaning, special effects or turn into something else :)

I really enjoy doing research, both in my field and in totally unrelated areas. I may know hardly anything of the latter, but they can constantly give me new insights to think about.

IS IRONY A CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN YOUR ARTWORKS?

Irony is a crucial element when I deal with my personal artworks because I basically have fun doing it and allow other people to find a moment of amusement in some totally foolish contexts.

In my professional works, however, I prefer to be much more precise and serious thinking about what content and values the client actually wants to communicate.

WHAT ARE THE PIVOTAL ELEMENTS IN VIDEO MAPPING DESIGN? IS THE INTERACTION WITH ARCHITECTURE IMPORTANT?

In the design of a video mapping the first thing to consider is the technical possibility that is available, namely the spaces, the depth, the geometries and shapes, the surroundings, and the light power at your disposal for a certain installation.

These factors lead to a vision of what can be developed in a specific environment, to get then to the creative part that adapt to these characteristics.

Architectures are very important in all of this, and they are often used both to create storytelling and to give the viewer a chance to recognize physical elements which have always been thought of and imagined in the same way for him up to that point.

WOULD YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROJECT FOR THE FASHION FILM FESTIVAL?

This year my project was “Fire from the Earth” in collaboration with the Oh Carla team, an emerging brand that has wanted to rely on my creativity for the past two years and with whom I have been able to experiment so much while always feeling supported.

It is a project that starts from the surreal and shows how humankind and earth come together organically to regenerate in new forms.

When you start a project like this a few things must be taken into account, and if you don’t have passion, calm and madness you will never get all the way through.

Each scene is filled with many large and small interventions with the aim to make those seconds crazy, surreal and perfect by creating hundreds of layers between masks, coloring, shading, and retouching.

My final comment is: if you are not highly motivated, this job is not for you 😄

YOU HAVE COLLABORATED WITH MANY WELL-KNOWN BRANDS, IS THERE ANY EXPERIENCE THAT YOU PARTICULARLY WANT TO SHARE?

I can say that over the past few years I have discovered many ways of working, every time I have mixed with people in this field, I have realized who can be called professional and who cannot, and likewise I have been able to form friendships even simply by the request for a quote.

This work really brings together people who can “think” and I love when someone calls me for a new job.

I think my best work experiences may be the ones I had with Prada and Puma, two brands I will never stop thanking for the humanity of the people who work there and their desire for creativity.

HAVE YOU EVER FOUND DIFFICULTY IN MATCHING YOUR IDEAS WITH THE CLIENT’S?

There are often circumstances that generate contrasting ideas, but this always depends on the people you are called to interact with and the kind of experiences they have had in their path.

You always must be ready to reevaluate your creative ideas, precisely because they are creative. You can really have so many possibilities for variation that it seems to me so stupid and counterproductive to think that to a request there is only one solution, therefore every time I am always ready to come up with a plan b, c, d, f, g, h, I.

Fortunately, in recent times my clients are putting complete trust in me and in the developments of my ideas and this totally makes a difference when working.

YOUR CREATIVITY ALSO EXTENDS TO OTHER AREAS - WHAT IS THE COMMON THREAD THAT TIES IT ALL TOGETHER?

I am constantly hovering between being bored and doing something crazy, and this over time has led me to delve into so many different disciplines and techniques very distant from each other.

For example, in the last six years I have started making my own clothes, or in the last two I have pretty much become a “Hair Tattoo” creating cuts and colorations on my hair, while four months ago I decided to be a basketball coach for a guy named Maury that I found at the playground (he is already very strong and maybe you will find him in the NBA in a few years).

I would say the main common thread is passion in communicating, feeling free in expressing myself and feeling good about the things and people around me.

I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to achieve all this :)