Artist in conversation: COSIMO PALERMO

- Welcome to The Holy Art. Could you tell us a little more about your background, and how did you begin creating art?

I started by chance in 2004, I was 24 and I lived in Palermo. I was carrying out the compulsory civil service in lieu of military service, at the headquarters of a famous Italian trade union and I saw continually attacking and detaching political electoral posters and general strike calls. One day I decided to bring some duplicates to home, During the journey I stopped to buy permanent markers and as soon as I got home I hung some of them on the walls of my room, then I started scribbling them over the unprinted white side during my art attacks. I still keep them in my house in Sicily.

What art do you most identify with?

I have a slight predilection for neo-realism applied to the whole spectrum of arts and crafts reachable by human thought.

- Can you describe one artwork or series from your oeuvre that you feel was pivotal in your career? 

All the artworks I created during 2020 are pivotal for my career. The 2020 has been a mixed blessing year for me, in the end I managed to bring out the "best" in me during the worst case scenario happened to my life. Each artwork have been experimental and preparatory to the improvement of the applied technique, Adding new elements of difficulty to any sub-sequential artwork to the first one, literally learning by doing.

Obviously not all donuts came out with the perfect hole in the center, but the less “beautiful” works were seed containers for future projects, sprouted in other works.

- Which other great artists inspire you and why?

In reality, I don't have a favourite artist or artistic current, I like all artists and all currents, and I draw inspiration from their miscellany.

- Can you talk about the process of creating your work?

I generally use three inspirational channels, Instagram, photographs of my travels and life experiences in Europe and in some cases pornography, which I believe is the best medium to mirror our modern society, which I find pop-porn. Once chosen the subject to replicate, I start by "ripping" the soul of the photograph vectorising it, and then I start applying the filling techniques I developed during these tough months of lockdown.

- What advice would you give to emerging artists entering the art world?

To be brave and true. I also urge them not to seek fame and money right away and to remain true to themselves. People will recognise and appreciate these aspects, time will do the rest.

- What do you hope that the public takes away from your art?

Myself, my authenticity and straightforwardness. We live in a very ambiguous historical era, every day people are submerged by hundreds of lies transmitted by all means and people are confused, to tell the truth in an era like ours is an act of kindness, people appreciate it.

- What is your dream project?

I have a sexy project in my mind that I would like to do with my partner (I hope she is also a good photographer), I would like to take some intimate love soaked shots and apply to them my digital metamorphoses, perhaps, building a story around these shots, like a “spicy love manga”.

- Finally, are there any projects you are currently working on and able to speak about?

Yes, during these days I have finished a project, which is still partially unpublished. Reconnecting to the fact that I mentioned earlier, about always setting new goals and adding difficulties, for the first time I recreated a black skin, using a photo of a beautiful model, but I failed to replicate in detail and in fullness the texture and the thousands shades of colour of her skin, I am only partially satisfied with the final result which is why I am already thinking about what to do to improve further.