FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER ARIANNA GENGHINI
Arianna
Genghini
Born in the Como area · living and working in Milan · natural light, cinematic vision
Daylight fills her pictures the way fresh air and greens fill her lungs. A photographer forever in search of a special ray of light, and of the spot where heart and soul feel fulfilled.
Arianna Genghini is a fashion photographer living and working in Milan, Italy. She was born in the Como area, and her connection with the lakes of Northern Italy runs deep. It combines her love for water and for mountains. She also has Southern origins, which can be traced in the warmth and passion of the way she lives.
“I feel an incredible connection with nature. Fresh air and greens fill my lungs as daylight does with my pictures. I love spending time surrounded by nature and exploring new places in the mountains or beside lakes, sometimes just an hour and a half by car from Milan to discover paradise. I am always in search of beauty, of a special light ray, or of a spot where I feel my heart and soul fulfilled.”
Literature, cinema, art, and the road.
“My greatest inspirations are literature, cinema, art and fashion itself. My favorite writers are Hermann Hesse and Milan Kundera. They speak so well about the human condition, in the most delicate and romantic way. My favorite directors are Truffaut and Ingmar Bergman. They always get me daydreaming. In fashion I love Prada, and I am truly passionate about sculpture and Impressionism.”
“What inspires me most is knowing new places and people: traveling and moving forward, leaving and coming back, seeing different skies and landscapes, visiting cities and getting in touch with other cultures.”
It starts with a vision, a cinematic one.
“My creative process always starts with a vision, a cinematic sort. I think about how I would like to represent the scene or the character, and then I research through image archives, films and photo-books to create moodboards, which has always been one of my favorite parts. After that it takes some weeks of arrangements, and then I shoot in very little time.”
“I am really quick. Sometimes I get the best shot within the first ten photos. It is always funny to see how much thinking and researching goes into creating an image that can take just one second to shoot. On set, I get in touch with every collaborator and try to know as much as possible about them and the models.”
“So much thinking and researching, for an image that takes one second to shoot.”
Finding her true self, and a new language in film.
“Last year changed me as a person and as an artist. While doing a lot of personal and inward research, I found my true self and got to know my way of thinking and self-expressing with images and emotions. This led to a re-evaluation of photography’s power to speak for me, and I started directing and writing a short film and a couple of fashion films.”
“Everyone tried to get more creative in problem-solving. Shooting remotely through video-calls was one of the most popular ways of keeping some normality. Now we know everything is possible. You can create beautiful images with any kind of technology. Photography and film are very democratic arts from that perspective.”
Zendaya.
“I love her style, and she is both a talented singer and actress, as well as a beautiful and inspirational woman. It would be a dream to shoot her.”
More content under the surface.
“I think the art world needs to focus more on content under the surface, rather than struggling so much to create perfection and beauty. Aesthetic means more than beauty only. It talks about ideas, meanings and connections within the images. Photos, artworks and films are beautiful because they can mean so much for our lives. They could truly inspire people to do better, for themselves and for others.”
“Aesthetic means more than beauty. It is ideas, meanings, and connections.”
Diversity, and the search for a person’s peculiarity.
“Diversity. I love shooting diverse models, because it is always a challenge to find their peculiarity, the thing that makes them more interesting to me, and to shoot according to their personality. Personalities, as much as faces and bodies, are the most interesting thing for me. I love to choose models personally and to do castings myself at go-sees. I am in constant search of diversity in models, collaborators and new shootings. It feeds my curiosity.”
A garden, the June sun, and food shared with family.
“Eating lunch based on vegetables and goat cheese with my family and friends, in a flourishing and flowered garden under the June sun. Laughing, cooking together and sharing food, telling stories, sunbathing, spending time together. My happiest memories are all linked to eating food with my family during festivities and birthdays. We have strong family traditions, and to us sharing food is like sharing love. Cooking and eating is an act of joy and love.”
“Sharing food is like sharing love.”
Antakly Projects, originally Ninu Nina, has been in conversation with the most inspiring voices in art, photography, design and culture since 2003. Interview by Leila Antakly. Arianna Genghini chases the light, and finds the person inside the picture.
All works © Arianna Genghini. Thank you to Arianna for the conversation.
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And for the personal rants on life, opinions you didn’t ask for, and the occasional existential spiral: follow me on Substack. Follow us at @antakly.projects on Instagram.
In search of the light. ✦
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