Foodtones: Interview with Isabella Vacchi
Photo: courtesy of Isabella Vacchi
This October, an exposition named Foodtones, by young Italian artist Isabella Vacchi, took place in Supermarket concept store in Belgrade. The artist presented compositions revealing numerous recalls and senses. Isabella herself told her story about what exactly stays behind these collages.
At the exhibition called Foodtones, held in Supermarket, you presented compositions of objects, color references, places, smells or senses. What was actually the initial inspiration? A smell reminds of place, or color reminds of food, or…
The Foodtones project was inspired, designed and realized starting from color palettes presented beside photographs which, along with titles above, have moved my imagination and created places, ambients and scents in my mind. I tried to recreate them in such a way so that everybody could imagine them, and in a way in which combination of picture, colors and title become homogeneous.
It is obvious that pastel tones have been dominated your work in last two years. Is it just a phase, or artistic sensibility?
This is a very interesting question. Actually, I let my instinct and my sensibility to guide me, therefore I think that pastel colors could be the most appropriate to my personality. I’m also very fascinated with colors/non-colors, or neutral colors, from white, to grey and black.
In the world where making of self-portrait has become a daily routine, you made a series ‘’No more portraits’’. What was your intention, having in mind that photographs contain not so many faces, but also various recognizable personal details?
I appreciate this question, too. Being the photographer of still life, actual and initial idea was to consider ‘’No more portraits’’ as my first and last project of portraits. However, I like the way you ‘’read’’ it, because I am by nature the observer and I am capable of catching details and things that stay unseen to the majority of people. Furthermore, the fact that faces weren’t photographed allowed me to stay inside my scope, the still life, treating the persons portrayed almost like ‘’objects’’.
You create artistic compositions, advertising photography, art direction, styling, interaction design, interior photography, illustration… and every time your ‘’style’’ is recognizable. However, which media/art discipline do you prefer?
I consider photography my main and only media, which allows me to express myself in still life, artistic and commercial photography, and in interior photography. The thing I appreciate the most in my work is the possibility to occupy myself with styling and art direction, too. These are a fundamental part of my work and present my great passion.
Being so young, with such a rich creative experience, what could be your next move? Or what kind of project would you like to do?
My young age is my strength point because it permits me to continue my growth, to experiment and evolve, to learn and continue with research.
I have no idea where the future might bring me, but I hope that I will be able to continue doing all these things and perhaps go far and to most persons possible.