article Queer Frontiers presents:
Luisa Me
Queer Frontiers presents:
Luisa Me
In conversation with artist duo
Luisa Me about shared memory, working
collaboratively and Italian piazzas.
Luisa Me about shared memory, working
collaboratively and Italian piazzas.
In conversation with artist duo
Luisa Me about shared memory, working
collaboratively and Italian piazzas.
Luisa Me is a London-based Italian artist duo. Their distinctly figurative artworks, which also address their cross-disciplinary contemplations and considerations, blur the boundaries between conceptual, representational and narrative art.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Luisa Me on the occasion of Queer Frontiers 2023 exhibition, Queer Myths, Queer Futures.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Luisa Me on the occasion of Queer Frontiers 2023 exhibition, Queer Myths, Queer Futures.
Artiq In your work 'Seachair', the characters use their arms to create a chair, a nostalgic gesture that represents support and also comfort, reflecting the close collaboration between you too. Does this image - a recurrent one in your work - also reflect your idea of community?
Luisa Me 'Seachair' shows an action that for us symbolises carefreeness as well as the strength of mutual support and forms the basis of our idea of community. The gesture refers to a game called 'the pope's chair' that is usually used to make children jump into the water or make the older ones perform aerial acrobatics. In our work, the images and symbols present in our common and shared memory, which often refer to marine content, are transformed into actions or representations charged with sacred or ritual value. This is our way of bridging the absence of spirituality that we experience in our everyday life, particularly in the context of the city, which rarely contemplates silence.
Luisa Me 'Seachair' shows an action that for us symbolises carefreeness as well as the strength of mutual support and forms the basis of our idea of community. The gesture refers to a game called 'the pope's chair' that is usually used to make children jump into the water or make the older ones perform aerial acrobatics. In our work, the images and symbols present in our common and shared memory, which often refer to marine content, are transformed into actions or representations charged with sacred or ritual value. This is our way of bridging the absence of spirituality that we experience in our everyday life, particularly in the context of the city, which rarely contemplates silence.
Artiq Your work incorporates aesthetic Italian heritage, blending profane and religious symbolism. From artists like Piero della Francesca to Giorgio De Chirico, Christian iconography and mythology play a significant role. How do you utilize these sources to react to contemporary issues and explore broader themes?
Luisa Me Growing up in a country where at every corner you can find churches and examples of ancient and modern art, it is difficult not to be influenced by it, even unconsciously. Some of the references to masters of the past are deliberate because in their work, we recognise the pure essence of air, of mystery, of suspension, of the symbolic power of an image, however religious or not. We thus try to appropriate and exploit these characteristics, other times the process is involuntary and unconscious, others still, aware of our cultural heritage, we try to go in the opposite direction and open a dialogue by questioning it.
Luisa Me Growing up in a country where at every corner you can find churches and examples of ancient and modern art, it is difficult not to be influenced by it, even unconsciously. Some of the references to masters of the past are deliberate because in their work, we recognise the pure essence of air, of mystery, of suspension, of the symbolic power of an image, however religious or not. We thus try to appropriate and exploit these characteristics, other times the process is involuntary and unconscious, others still, aware of our cultural heritage, we try to go in the opposite direction and open a dialogue by questioning it.
Artiq Water is a recurring element in your work, and statuesque characters inhabit your creations. Would it be accurate to say that you're defining your own mythology? If so, how does building your own mythology, through repetition and consistent representation, contribute to your artistic vision?
Luisa Me The idea of defining our mythology is a reading we like. Statuary figures remind us of Italian piazzas where you can often find fountains or statues. For us, these are landmarks, elements that are always there and represent the centre of the city where people come together, fostering the idea of community. In a world where certainties are fewer and fewer and everything is disposable, be it objects or interpersonal relationships, we seek consolation and strength in our symbols and mythology.
Luisa Me The idea of defining our mythology is a reading we like. Statuary figures remind us of Italian piazzas where you can often find fountains or statues. For us, these are landmarks, elements that are always there and represent the centre of the city where people come together, fostering the idea of community. In a world where certainties are fewer and fewer and everything is disposable, be it objects or interpersonal relationships, we seek consolation and strength in our symbols and mythology.
Artiq Working as a duo, you complement each other's ideas, knowledge, and skills. How does the unpredictability of collaborating affect your creative process? How do you find a harmonious balance in your collaborative work?
Luisa Me We both have the same goal: to create images that deserve to exist and can be interesting for us, for others and contemporarily relevant. This common purpose has allowed us to recognise our qualities as well as our flaws and we are not afraid to admit them to each other.
We often work in such a way that one of us has his hands on the work and the other follows the movements from a distance, directing and giving the least involved view of the creative process. Just as it was essential for us to take a distance from our country of origin to have a greater awareness of our identity, so in the studio being two allows us to have a more balanced approach that is subject to constant new stimuli.
Luisa Me is exhibiting in Queer Frontiers: Queer Myths, Queer Futures June 29 - July 4 at 1-4 Walker's Court, London W1F 0BS.
Luisa Me We both have the same goal: to create images that deserve to exist and can be interesting for us, for others and contemporarily relevant. This common purpose has allowed us to recognise our qualities as well as our flaws and we are not afraid to admit them to each other.
We often work in such a way that one of us has his hands on the work and the other follows the movements from a distance, directing and giving the least involved view of the creative process. Just as it was essential for us to take a distance from our country of origin to have a greater awareness of our identity, so in the studio being two allows us to have a more balanced approach that is subject to constant new stimuli.
Luisa Me is exhibiting in Queer Frontiers: Queer Myths, Queer Futures June 29 - July 4 at 1-4 Walker's Court, London W1F 0BS.