Tony Federico "Eyes Wide Shut"

Fine Art Print
59,4 x 72,2 cm
Limited edition: 15 prints

Gallery quality print

Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre 200 g/qm
Printed, stamped & numbered in Berlin

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About this artwork

Shot on Polaroid i-Type 600 / 5x8
Milano / 2003

"I took this picture in 2003, at an Emporio Armani show. Giorgio Armani is one of the most influential fashion designers ever and working for him meant that I had made it. It was the boom time of the supermodels. Models like Nadja Auermann or Claudia Schiffer became pop stars and we were the first to tell behind-the-scenes stories from their world. Me and a few colleagues we had practically invented this genre - there was a lot of money to be made with.

At that time I had just seen the film by Stanley Kubrick and it touched me deeply. I could identify with the story. I had just divorced my wife and was in a frenzy of work. I was on the road a lot, went to parties, my new girlfriend was a model. I took drugs and spent a lot of money. That's why I liked the film so much and I wanted to make images that were as metaphorical as by Kubrick.

So when I saw this girl in the backstage area of Armani, with the light on her forehead and her eyes closed, I thought of "Eyes Wide Shut", of the symbolism and the girls on the platters. She still had her own pullover on, closed her eyes and it looked like she was dreaming herself away. I thought about the pressure she must be under, at the beginning of a 10-hour day. She was not a supermodel and her days were castings, shows, make-up and a lot of waiting. The small flat she lived in during her days in Milano was most likely deducted from her salary by the agencies. To save money, many models took public transport around the city, only a very few had drivers. Besides, most models' careers were over after a few years.
So I had to think about the film, about power and how it is distributed between the "emperor" Giorgio Armani and this young girl. I had understood that the film was - among other things - about the eternal conflict between good and evil. And at some moments I had the feeling that I wasn't on the right side anymore. But at that time I was riding the wave - for the time being.”

www.tonyfederico.it

* "Framed option" comes with a premium Nielsen aluminium frame