At ARK/8, every facet of the creative process is carefully considered. After we design new pieces for a collection, we love working with exciting talents in photography and videography to bring our creations to life. For the second part of our Lands Between collection inspired by ELDEN RING, we collaborated with celebrated photographer Luca Mastroianni who brought a Renaissance-inspired, epic narrative into the collection. We caught up with Luca to discuss his creative process and what inspires him.
Can you discuss the ELDEN RING project and what inspired its creation?
The inspiration behind the Elden Ring project comes from everything that you can see while playing the game. From the immense ethereal landscapes, to the bestiary, the bosses, the character’s equipments, etc. And then I try to bring in my style and creative approach to all that.
What initially drew you to photography and graphic design as mediums of expression?
It might be cliché but since I was a kid I've always been attracted to artistic activities. I was always drawing, painting and doing craftwork. So I knew I would study art after college but I didn’t know what medium exactly. And just like that, a week before the start of the school year, I decided to do graphic design. I thought it was a nice way to express my love for visual art. There I got introduced to a few different mediums and it led me to what I’m doing now.
You started your photographic journey on Instagram, what did/do you love about that platform to test your photography style on?
Actually Instagram really helped me find my path. When I started I was just having fun posting my outfits mixing photography with digital techniques I was learning at school. Then, always very naively, I began to experiment more and more which attracted people’s interest I guess. My Instagram was and [is] still like [an] open portfolio to everyone, where I can test things and see how people react and if they’re receptive to my work.
Your photography sets are quite stripped back when you compare the ‘end result’ where you have fully realised the backdrop you want for that subject you are shooting. Can you share a bit about your creative process? How do you approach conceptualising and executing your projects?
It varies most of time. Of course the process is totally different if I received a brief from a client, but usually the visual concept comes first. I have an idea popping up in my head probably coming from the things I’m inspired [by that] nourish my mind, or I just read a book about a painter and I want to reinterpret some of his work. Could be a lot of things. But with time I tend to move away from defining very precise and concrete ideas. I like to let my vision flow and see where it leads me, so the final result can be quite different from the original idea I had.
Can you share some insights into your technical approach? Are there any techniques or tools you prefer to use?
I don’t really like to talk much about the technique aspect as I always felt like it takes away from the "magic", but yeah, basically a lot of post-prod [laughs].
What themes or subjects do you find yourself drawn to the most in your work?
I think fashion has always been at the core of my work. It’s also something I’m in love with since I was kid, and on a more personal note it gave me lot of confidence. Then I also love fashion photography, so ultimately it is very present in my work, as well as the human body. With that I let my inspirations take over and mix things to create something unique, maybe new, and hopefully it will make the viewer react or spurs emotions.
