ROBERTO FODDAI INTERVIEW

10/06/09 London

Artist Roberto Foddai is a storyteller whose witty, timeless and profound anecdotes are constructed not of words, but of the images that he shoots, often in the very early hours of the morning. His mesmerising work peels back layers of complex socio-political issues that are embedded in each and every of us: taboos, prejudgements and bigotry which are rooted in an intricate blend of collective, political, religious and cultural codes. Concealed within Foddai’s images are these forbidden and often uncomfortable fables, narrated not to shock or to fabricate controversy, but rather to break Pandora’s box wide open.

Roberto Foddai, Self Portrait, 2oo9

PP. From where does the name Roberto Foddai derive?

RF. [Laughs] I think my parents have very bad taste when it comes to giving names. My older sisters are called Immacolata, Gavinuccia and Antonella. When I was born, I think one of my older sisters fancied some guy called Roberto and she just proposed that to my mum who agreed with that! Is that what you wanted to know?

PP. Absolutely. So Immacolata, Gavinuccia and Antonella have only one brother, you. Were you their Superman brother or a toy to play with?

RF. Neither really. Antonella was the second mum, Gavinuccia hated me and Immacolata loved me but wanted to kill me at the same time!

PP. So to escape a cold-blooded murder or spare your sister’s prison you ran for your life and settled in London. Is that correct?

RF. Sort of. Boredom played a big part in my escape actually. At the time, I wasn’t a fan of London to be honest with you and I came for just 6 months. But then I fell in love with the city and decided to stay!

PP. What made you fall in love with London?

RF. London is probably the most exciting city in Europe. I feel a very strong connection to this city. Sometimes, especially during the winter, I flirt with the idea of moving somewhere warmer but then spring comes and I am in love with London all over again.

PP. Why do you feel such a connection with London? Why is it so exciting place for you?

RF. Many reasons, but one of them is the fact that London celebrates eccentricity. I am not that eccentric myself, however, I like the idea of a place where you are allowed to be different. It also feels like you are at the centre of the world here. I come from a very small place in Sardinia and always felt like things were happening somewhere else. London is pretty much the place to be as far as I am concerned.

Roberto Foddai, Tux, part I, 2oo9

PP. And most importantly you are able to create here. Looking at your exquisite images, a story of some kind starts to unfold. Is that intentional? Where do you start? How do you decide what to shoot?

RF. The idea of telling a story is always in the back of my mind. I always begin with the story I want to tell which is often something about a basic human emotion or even a political statement, but what I like to do is start from the personal experience rather than seeing things in abstract terms. I don’t tend to like generalisations and I think storytelling helps me to avoid that. I prefer to communicate through stories rather than give a direct opinion about certain subjects.

PP. Your images are quite breathtaking to look at, but I am fond of your work also because on a deeper level it touches upon some complex social and political issues. Currently you are working on the subject of abortion. Why?

RF. When you invited me to participate in your exhibition, Dogma, I thought that abortion would be a difficult and rigid subject to work on. A story would unfold as I shoot it. But nothing is black and white in life or in general. My interest is specifically focusing on a gray zone, which is in between. One doesn’t get pregnant and decides just like that to have a child or not. It is more complicated than that. This complexity is the gray space I wish to explore.

Roberto Foddai, Untitled (from the Abortion series), 2oo9

PP. You mentioned that your story is unfolding as you work on it. Is this the way you work? Or could you visualise an idea straight away, make a storyboard of a sort and then go shooting?

RF. It is an organic process. I have an idea but most of the development happens while I have a camera in my hands. Nothing is set in stone so I like when one image leads to another. Also I never know how many pictures I need to take for a certain tale. I work until I believe there is nothing left to say.

PP. Most of the time, you are in your photographs. Why?

RF. I enjoy doing it, and I know exactly what I want to portray. No one else does, apart from a couple of people that I shoot regularly. I usually find it difficult to get out of people exactly what I am looking for. Being spontaneous, I very often get the ideas in the middle of the night and have to shoot immediately. For these reasons I am often in my photos. Besides, I am always available and don’t wish in particular to call people to assist me at three in the morning.

PP. Location and styling plays a crucial part in your work. Do you do everything yourself?

RF. I take pleasure especially in styling, looking for props and shopping for clothes in second-hand shops. Then I get to wear all that great stuff. Not that I look particularly for it in my size [Laughs]. Location research takes more time, as it is a very important part of my story telling. As a general rule I prefer doing everything myself, even if that is a slow process, but indeed the one I can be in control of.

PP. Looking at your work one could hardly place it in any exact point in time. It is kind of timeless; it could be the 50’s, now, or in some completely different instance in the future perhaps.

RF. I love playing with that idea of past-now-future limbo, situations that could be difficult to locate in any specific moment or space. This is what I am always striving for. Sometimes I push it more than other times. When I made the series What Difference Does It Make, it was crucial that the story was placed in a particular period and past, but even then I used some contemporary elements to enhance it.

Roberto Foddai, from the series What Difference Does It Make, 2oo9

PP. What is your next project about?

RF. I can’t actually talk about it right now. It is kind of a dangerous territory and I want to do it well. I am working with these visual references, which I am really not supposed to play with. However it is a very ambitious project that could be quite controversial, even though that is not my aim. It is a challenge that I have taken on. That excites me.

PP. How do you feel about taboos today? Things that we are not suppose to talk about? Who makes the rules?

RF. I don’t know. We are all responsible for them I guess. Taboos derive from different fields like politics, religion or history. The film Downfall from 2004, which was about Hitler’s last days, has been criticised widely because he was portrayed in it as a human being. It just shows you how sensitive some issues still are. We easily forget that even the biggest criminals and murderers are still humans. It is odd how people favour seeing everything in black and white. Humans are not just good or bad. We are a mix of more than just that.

PP. What influences your work?

RF. The cinema influences me most, more than photography. David Lynch is great. He is the master of setting up a story in a timeless place. And of course early Italian cinema is something I feel close to — Rossellini, Visconti, Fellini. I grew up with their films. Sometimes I take a shot and much later recognise a scene from Fellini that I’ve seen a long time ago. It obviously stayed within me, somewhere.

Federico Fellini, Amarcord, 1973

PP. You went recently to Barcelona just to see the premiere of the latest Almodovar film.

RF. I love his drama, probably because I am Italian. A guy kidnaps an ex porn star and ties her up to a bed until she falls in love with him… How can you not love something like that? [Laughs]

PP. What else do you like?

RF. I tend to like photojournalism, the completely opposite of what I do, like Diane Arbus. But recently I watched a documentary, Genius of Photography, which showed that even in photojournalism, staging is a well-known fact. So maybe it is not too different from my own work [laughs].

PP. What makes you relaxed?

RF. Most of the time I watch films really. That relaxes me, especially after discovering that you can download whatever film you wish illegally through the internet [Laughs].

PP. Are you ambitious?

RF. I would like to be more ambitious and to continue with what I am doing already, maybe more complex things with settings that I could build myself. I studied fine art, so I love constructing things. I would love to do that, and find other ways of representing my own work, something more exciting than just an image on a wall. Often I see shows with great works utterly destroyed by their bad presentation, frames, wrong sizes, paper choice. For me, a photograph has also meaning as an object, it’s something to be admired. So the entire package must be perfect.

PP. How old are you?

RF. I am 37 and it feels great. I am more comfortable with myself now than ever before. In my teenage years I was always miserable, it wasn’t fun. How about you? [Laughs] I am very happy now, and it will only get better in the future I hope. The older you get, you know more, you’ve learned more so you can do better and bigger things.