Livia Chiffi – Changing is a precious chance that everyone must seize every day, and it is right to take advantage of. Livia knows this well; indeed, she gives great relevance to the concept of “rebirth”, perhaps as a justification for her dissatisfaction towards what she creates.
Livia Chiffi always wants more and more; therefore, each of her works always comes from suggestions or her own memories, as she can tell anecdotes without expressing a proper preference.
What does “rebirth” mean to you? What do you associate this concept with?
To be reborn is a necessary condition to afterwards create things. Without a change, a movement, an evolution, we stay firm in our positions and there is nothing that scares me more. Changing oneself is a precious chance that must be seized every day, and it is right to take advantage of.
What are the inspirations/ inspiring artists for your works?
For months I kept a Taschen collection by Andy Warhol (“Seven illustrated books”) on my bedside table, which I flipped through when I felt the need. It has been my greatest inspiration of this last period, along with a series of illustrated books that I collect and consult as a study. You can learn a lot from these publications, as well as from museum archives, which are a great source of daily inspiration for me.
I can’t tell the artist who inspired me the most; however, Andy Warhol’s illustrations taught me a lot. Inspiration is a particular concept; it is not easy to draw the boundaries. Particular moments and circumstances totally allow me to create, whether it is inspiration or not, I can’t say that.
Tell us about your artistic background and your studies
My studies are pretty far from the world of art. I graduated from linguistic high school and got a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication. At the moment, I’m studying fashion publishing. Nothing more distant.
My artistic activity started without too many questions, by chance, as a need that I felt I had to decline in a new form. I experimented with illustration; now I’m ready to work with new supports and materials.
Show us your favourite work. Would you mind telling us its story and any anecdotes behind its creation?
I quit looking for an absolute favourite work as I realized I don’t have one. I can’t really love what I create, I tend to never be satisfied with it (this is why I give great importance to rebirth, perhaps as a justification for my never really appreciating what I create). I could tell one, of course, but it would be a temporary preference and would result in little information. I prefer not to. Each of my works always comes from a suggestion, so I can tell the anecdote without expressing a preference.
As a child, in my grandparents’ countryside, I protected a mouse that got caught in a mousetrap. A cat was waiting in front of me for the right time for lunch. I spent a few hours watching over the trap with the mouse and when I had to move the cat grabbed it and ate it.
I was very fascinated by my protective instinct and by the cat’s feline instinct, so a few years ago, I made an illustration of it. It is called “The trap and the betrayal”.
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