The Stroke of Luck or the Story of Captain Beany
Featuring Alecio Ferrari Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
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Alecio Ferrari tells about himself as a person who’s still waiting for the stroke of luck, who sees his growth as a result of hard work and openness to new experiences. One of the main themes is a contemplation on the surrounding space and people inhabiting it, portraying the world to the viewer from an angle that encourages to feel. The ambiance of his photos and the emotional background absorb one’s stare driving towards a deeper realization of the image. Minimalism, discipline, methodized approach to photography enables the unique perspective to emerge.
Alecio Ferrari is an Italian fashion and beauty photographer and art director, represented by @c41.eu. Alecio graduated with a BA in Graphic Design at Falmouth University, UK. His recent work Port Talbot turned to a 72-pages printed book, curated by Giada Storelli. He worked with clients like Audi, Adidas, Adam Lippes, Bomba y Lola, Farfetch, and many others.
In this interview, we speak with Alecio about his studies and work experience as a graphic designer, the expansion of his business to video production, his first photography project working with an NGO in Calcutta, India, and his role in the Fabrica Research Center. Alecio tells about the project in Port Talbot, the UK, and the dynamics of working in a duo with Alex Fleming. The main highlight of the trip was meeting Captain Beany, the eccentric character, a charity fundraiser, and a person who’s style cannot be forgotten.
‘I was born in Milan, Italy, growing up with my mother, going to scientific high school – bad decision – and at the end of my 17, I fell in love with photography.’
Hi Alecio, how is it going? What are your plans for today?
I’m great at the moment! Just came back from a long tour around Brazil, now I’m heading to Paris for a commission. Pretty hectic life lately, but I can’t complain : D
Tell about yourself, growing up in the hometown of Milan and the BA studies in Graphic Design?
I was born in Milan, Italy, growing up with my mother, going to scientific high school – bad decision – and at the end of my 17, I fell in love with photography. The only reason why I studied graphic design is that I didn’t want to study photography. I believe that photography schools in Milan are pretty stuck in the past there is no contemporary vision and approach. So in order to expand my skills and background, I decided to go into visual communication as a wider matter.
‘I believe that studying graphic design gave me a wider view of visual communication as well as a strong consciousness of the creative process. I am a methodical human, everything has got an order, things need to be planned.’
Did you ever work as a designer? How did it happen you turned to photography?
I do work as a graphic designer but exclusively for hand-selected works. I never really pushed commercially my work as a designer just because photography has always been my priority.
I believe that studying graphic design gave me a wider view of visual communication as well as a strong consciousness of the creative process. I am a methodical human, everything has got an order, things need to be planned.
Let’s discuss Port Talbot, the shoot you worked on with Alex Fleming. You’ve decided to take photographs of the town and the people living there. What is the most fascinating personal story you discovered while on this trip?
The most fascinating yet weird encounter has been the day spent with Captain Beany, definitely the most beloved person of Port Talbot. We have been invited to his Baked Bean Museum of Excellence – every room, every object was orange – where he started telling us his life-story and showing his collection of beans-related gadgets. Striking things, for instance in May 1991, he changed his name by deed poll from Barry Kirk to Captain Beany, or in 2015 Beany raised £3,600 for charity by having 60 baked beans tattooed on his head.
‘While I was working as a volunteer with street children, I realized my very first photography project, A Passage to India, that ended up in a book and an exhibition in Milan in 2015.’
What are some of the dynamics in working as a duo and traveling together? What are the positive aspects of exploring this narrative?
Port Talbot has been the first reportage project that I ever have done in a duo with another photographer. Since it's a research project, in an early stage of research sources and documentation, depended on two people has been much easier to create a solid basis, we were constantly confronting and discussing a lot. When we landed on the ground of the town, we were afraid to shoot the same pictures as we were walking together around the place. But eventually, we ended up with pretty different images, our different visual approaches came to the surface. I believe that the most striking thing about being a duo is that you constantly push each other to do your best.
You’ve spent several months living and volunteering at an NGO in Calcutta, India, while also working on a personal project. What was your main mission with the NGO, and what are some of the highlights of this experience?
In 2014, I decided to leave Milan for 3 months to go to live in a local family in Calcutta. While I was working as a volunteer with street children, I realized my very first photography project, A Passage to India, that ended up in a book and an exhibition in Milan in 2015. I think that experience made me realize that I wanted to live off photography. To respond to one of the previous questions, probably this has been a milestone, it made me understand which is the direction I intend to follow.
‘Since I was 18 and I found out about Fabrica I decided that I wanted to participate in the project. So I spent the whole of November 2019, I was sharing every single moment of life with the other Fabricantis.’
What were some of the most important milestones in your career that allowed you to do freelance photography and realize yourself in this way?
Actually, I’m still waiting for the famous “stroke of luck”. For me, it has been a gradual growth. Having started working as a photographer pretty early, before university, it gave me the time and awareness to shape better my path, learn from errors, and redefine my aesthetic and vision. I believe that the first milestone came a couple of months ago when I’ve been asked to be represented by the Italian Creative Production Agency C41, based in Milan and Amsterdam. I had to admit that this happened thanks to Leone Balduzzi and Luca Caizzi that believed in myself and my work since the first time we met.
Tell about your work with Fabrica as a Creative Researcher and about the project?
Fabrica Research Center is a hub of new emerging talents in visual art and communications. It was founded in 1994 in Treviso, Italy, by Benetton Group under the guidance of Oliviero Toscani. They basically run design residencies open to international artists under 25. Their way of working is pretty eclectic and without rules. They have produced dozens of movies, they have been the editorial department of Colors Magazine back in the days, they do curatorial projects as well as communication design campaigns. Since I was 18 and I found out about Fabrica I decided that I wanted to participate in the project. So I spent the whole of November 2019, I was sharing every single moment of life with the other Fabricantis, and it has been exciting and stimulating being cheek to cheek with such talented creatives.
What’s your favorite project so far?
Are two years that I am working on a collection about the color green. I hate green, so I decided to photograph every single thing that has that color in order to understand why I have this perception. I haven’t shown this body of work to anybody yet, probably in a decade I’ll understand why I don’t like it!
‘I don’t really have a guideline, I follow my instinct, and my aesthetic that is always changing. I rather prefer to say that I have periods in which I’m focused on a specific texture, or color palette, or even composition. Needless to say, we are bombarded.’
You’ve got an incredible eye for color, the palette you choose, and also the amount of color or the saturation you need. What are some of the guidelines you have for yourself in this matter?
This is an interesting question. I don’t really have a guideline, I follow my instinct, and my aesthetic that is always changing. I rather prefer to say that I have periods in which I’m focused on a specific texture, or color palette, or even composition. Needless to say, we are bombarded by images, but what I try to do is feed my brain and my eyes with quality images, understand why I like those specific ones, and then create a personal interpretation.
What’s next?
2020, it’s a great number and therefore has to be a great year! First of all, I have a couple of personal unpublished projects that need to be out of my archive. Secondly, I'm trying to move my production to a wider level; I'm expanding my business, creatively speaking, to video and art direction (in addition to photography). It's still in a pretty early stage but... I hope to see you soon again : )
