Since you often use print as a medium for the execution of your work, may I ask you which type you prefer?
I prefer fine art printing on cotton paper, Glacier, Ferrania Art Matter Paper or Hot Press Bright.
However, I have always been satisfied with the prints I have made, even the print on Baryta.
What comes first, the idea or the fascination with the material? In other words, does the artistic project come first, or is it inspired by the techniques and particular processes that have struck you?
Usually, the project, the idea, the image come first, and then the rest follows, although obviously good printing and the right paper can absolutely enhance it and make it look its best. They play an important role in presenting a work.
Do you have any Masters you look up to and feel close to?
I love Tim Walker for his dreamlike photographs, I really like Helmut Newton, Jeanloup Sieff, Elliott Erwitt and others, I am a devourer of images, I try to discover new photographers, to do research, to document myself on what is done today.
In her shots I can’t help but glimpse the dreamlike lightness of Chagall’s paintings and the almost performative aspect present in Francesca Woodman’s works, a sort of photographic surrealism that transcends the laws of physics to gently invade the realm of dreams or, at least, of the perception of the self, almost as if the subjects’ true identities were leaking out, unbeknownst to them.
How do you approach the subjects you want to portray? How do you choose the models who will appear in your photographs?
Having your photograph taken isn’t easy, so I explain what I’m looking for to best convey what I’ve imagined, but very often people surprise me: we all have a story to tell, things that are imprinted and involuntarily end up in faces, in the way they hold themselves. It’s always a little magic, seeing what you’ve imagined blend with the subject. And I love, once I’ve given the input and the main idea, letting the subject be free to amaze me. I don’t have pre-established selection criteria; all it takes is for people to inspire stories, for them to inspire me to imagine something else, for me to see them fit into some vision of mine. I definitely have a penchant for female subjects, but I think this is partly due to the ease with which I can identify, and partly to the fact that, photographically, I adore women and their bodies.
Biography
Valeria Marmaglio
I photograph
https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriamarmaglio/
Valeria Marmaglio, born in Brescia in 1983, discovered her passion for photography during her studies at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and immediately understood that it was a powerful, as well as fun, means to express one’s thoughts and dreams.
Valeria is fascinated by the individual and the body, by the history it hides or reveals, by the expression of what has been or what could be in all its forms and nuances, even when immersed in imagined or, at times, dreamlike realities.
She loves to explore new realities and invent new rules to better express the emotions that have no place in reality. She experiences photography as a liberating experience, but above all as a way to access and express beauty.
His works have been exhibited in various exhibitions and solo shows in the province of Brescia and in northern Italy.