AT: Where are you from and how/why did you start engaging with photography?

LF: I’m from Pescara and I started approaching photography when I was about 15 years old

AT: When did it become serious?

LF: I initially photographed the small reality that surrounded me from people to various situations, I had a very instinctive relationship with photography. After studying at the Academy and constant research, I became much more aware of my visual research, maturing much curiosity about the nature of the image and in what it can be transcended.

AT: Are there any person who has been significant in your breakthrough as an artist?

LF: It is difficult to single out individual people who are important in my journey, I can say that I find it very important to deal with people who are around me and with whom I have a connection.

AT: What was your first approach to the work? How would you describe your practice?

LF: I have never shot much, or rather, I have always photographed, but for me the phase before putting it into practice is fundamental. In my case, before actually producing an image, there is a long and essential phase in which I identify different materials, work and processes them through various techniques, both analogue and digital, objects and photographs.

AT: What do you aim to reach with your work?

LF: It’s a question that at this stage of my life, I really can’t answer. I can say that by creating, shaping and transforming what I see, I somehow manage to better understand reality and become more aware of it.

AT: What does your research consist of?

LF: I am currently asking many questions about the instability that dominates everything and every being. I am fascinated by the processes of change and transformation. In this last period, I think a lot about growth, about what it really means to change, about nature taking over the body and changing it.

AT: What do you feel while you work?

LF: While I’m working I feel a persistent need to dig deeper into what I’m doing.

AT: How do you understand that a work is finished?

LF: It’s a tricky question. I really dwell on every single image I produce. I’ve currently finished a project but I’m actually planning to get back to it in a while.

AT: Where does the inspiration for the work come from?

LF: I don’t think of inspiration as a single moment, rather I try to develop my research constantly and thoroughly.

AT: Are there any artists/photographers who influenced your works? Why?

LF: I actually appreciate the work of a lot of artists, especially contemporary ones. I’m always very interested in following the work of other artists and I think this exposure influences me all the time.

AT: How important is the role of social media for you?

LF: It is currently very important. I try to make the best use of social media to get the word out, to those who are interested, in my work.

AT: As an artist, what is your point of view about the contemporary art system?

LF: I’m not too deep into the intricacies of the art system but my impression is that there are many possibilities, although they appear fragmented.

AT: What do you find to be the most challenging or daunting thing about pursuing art? What is the most rewarding part of working as an artist?

LF: I don’t think there are downsides and upsides, I would say it’s a great mixture of the two. It takes a lot of concentration, a lot of perseverance and a lot of determination. I’m almost obsessed with producing photographs, although as I said before, I don’t shoot all the time, my mind is always on that. It’s something I love and hate at the same time.

AT: What do you do besides art?

LF: Everything I do is somehow related to art, especially in the last year. I started collaborating with Yogurt Magazine and I was also lucky enough to be on the organising team of the first edition of Charta: a photobook festival in Rome.

AT: What are your goals and expectations for the future?

LF: The future scares me but at the same time, I’m really curious about it. I currently have a lot of motivation to produce and pursue projects. I hope that one day I will be satisfied in some way.

Lorena Florio (Pescara, 1996) is an Italian photographer graduated in New Technologies of Art at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, currently living and working in Rome, Italy. 

Her photographs, which often start from simple elements of reality, are subjected to different levels of processing, both physical and digital, in an attempt to transpose the representations into her own imagination. She was selected for the last three publications of Yogurt magazine Quarantine flavour, Bad Taste and Mojo flavour and took part in the group exhibition New Talents 2020 curated by 'PEP' at the B-part gallery in Berlin. She has recently published her first book 'Lacerations' with SelfSelfbooks and is in the organisation of the first edition of Charta: a Photo-Book Festival in Rome, curated and organised by Yogurt Magazine. 

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