The one with Mahmood And Blancofresh winners of the Sanremo Festival, is certainly one of the most iconic covers of the last months of Vanity Fair. So much so that, on the occasion of the 66th edition ofEurovision Song Contestat the starting line this evening, where the two artists will represent Italy, the shooting for which they were protagonists on the pages of our magazine becomes a exhibitionborn in collaboration with the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation.
Behind the beautiful shots on display is the eye – indeed, the eyes – of the duo Luigi & Iangophotographers loved by the most famous and glamorous international celebs, from Madonna to Rihanna, and protagonists with their works of the covers of the most prestigious magazines in the world. Luigi MurenuSardinian born in 1964, with a past as a hairstylist behind him, e Iango Henziborn in Switzerland in 1979, studied as a classical dancer, they met in 2010 and started working together in 2013. Since then a series of memorable shots, which lead us to the portraits of the duo of Italian singers now on display.
How would you tell us about the photos on display in Turin?
Luigi: «To involve us in this shooting was Mahmood, a great friend: the idea was born from him. We live in New York, we were already in Europe and we managed to fit everything in three days, obviously it was destiny. We really liked this brilliant pairing of two very different people, who came together to get involved. We wanted a bold and strong photo, but at the same time clean and peaceful. Simple. This is the reason for a clear but important symbolism like that of the dove ».
Iango: «It was all so natural, fluid and enjoyable. Sometimes the less you think, the more special things come. Four artists united who get naked to send a message: that’s how it went ».
Luigi: «The war in Ukraine had not even started yet, but the idea of sending a message of peace seemed urgent to us».
How were Blanco and Mahmood?
L .: “They are more than singers, they are true artists who love to dress up, play a role, be actors in the stories of their songs”.
I .: «They are performers, who have interpreted our idea very well. That is, there are no longer any kind of barriers between genders, from all points of view. They staged the “opening” ».
A curious anecdote from the shooting?
I. «The complicity that existed between them, beautiful. For example, in the cover photo where Blanco stepped on Mahmood’s foot: you feel the union and the desire to have fun. When there is such a positive energy, you always take beautiful photos ».
L. “We had a lot of fun, and I think the two of them too.”
You have photographed many stars, from Madonna to Rihanna. What is truly fascinating about working with characters of this level?
I. «Creating together, and the challenge of bringing out something from a star that has not yet been seen in any other previous photo. The starting point is mutual trust: we must not force anything ».
L. «We like to bring out their soul. It is a subtle game between veiling and revealing, between hiding and making emerge ».
I. «Generally, we like to show, in a photo, what cannot be seen in everyday life. Our mission is to make people even greater than they already are. Show their soul, to make them spectacular, unique and special. In this world we need beauty, an indispensable filter through which, today, we can see everything that surrounds us ».
Who is the first celeb you photographed?
L. «I would say Madonna. We have a good friendship relationship, with her the creative process can be very intense and electrifying ».
Not a bad start. Tell me the truth: does working in two have more advantages or disadvantages? There aren’t many couples of photographers …
I: «I think that working as a couple is much easier. We have more or less the same eye, but two diametrically opposed backgrounds and ideas. The beauty is to discuss and to be able to develop an idea together each time in which we find ourselves in agreement. In two we are stronger, and we are also able to impose our ideas better ».
L. «Comparison always helps. All artists have a “partner” with whom they talk and work, often for fashion photographers it is often an art director or a stylist. We have found each other a mutual shoulder. Of course, it is not an easy thing: individuality, today, seems to be fundamental. And it also happens to us to “snatch” the camera from our hands, like children. Our beauty is this, the enthusiasm of feeling like children in front of emotions ».
Looking back on your entire career, and having to choose only one, can you tell me which photo you are very, very proud of?
L. «The photos we took in Japan. A world and a mentality so different from ours that they really enchanted me ».
I. «The dancer Yoshito Ohno, yes. We had 15 minutes to shoot, and a photo came out that represents very well who we are. We were able to capture the extreme intensity of that moment. The photo is always an encounter: you have to know how to throw yourself with curiosity to see what happens ».
L. «Even that of whoever looks at the photo is an encounter, with the same emotions as those who took it. If you can’t touch people’s emotions, it’s better to do something else… ».
Source: Vanity Fair
