Italian artist Abraxas discusses his creative process and artistic identity, inspired by sex, violence, and the human condition. In this interview we explore his artistic journey, the relationship between art and sex and feature endeavors.

Greetings Abraxas, can you please introduce yourself? Where are you from? How long have you guys been creating this type of art?

I´m from Milan, Italy. I started creating these kinds of collages 5 years ago, although I have always produced different types of art. I have always painted/drawn, acted, played, and even written, but it is through visual art that I have found my best channel of expression. This type of artwork was born with the idea of restoring the tension and strength and weakness and violence of the body in a synthesis that makes it more abstract and numismatical.

What type of process did you go through to find your artistic identity?

I simply started from what I liked, disturbed, or questioned me in some way, from a certain kind of vision I had, images that I felt the urgency to realize and concretize. My artistic identity was formed quite naturally and spontaneously, in retrospect looking at my works I realized that I was obviously influenced by other artists I admire, but subconsciously, I also see some of my neurosis and obsessions when I look back on my works.

How do you see the relationship between art and sex, and how does your work fit into this relationship?

I am quite passionate and obsessed with sex, ever since I was a child, so in my art it is one of the themes that I love to deal with the most, combined with that of the body and its transience and violence, strongly connected themes that have to do with the human and animal condition. The thing that I like to explore the most in art and in life is the creativity of eroticism, the psychological causes behind certain practices, their variety and heterogeneity, my early works were almost all dedicated to various paraphilias. Also, sickness and disease sometimes catch my interest, as expressions of body weakness and decay.

How would you describe your creative process when creating your artwork? What are your inspirations

Initially, I would start from photographs taken from the internet, usually from porn sites, find details of interacting bodies and isolate them, and then regroup them into a texture, synthesis, and exaggeration of movement and the sexual act, in a sublimate way. Then I begIn to apply this technique to other subjects as well, always in the spectrum of the themes I wanted to use.

What does a typical day look like for Abraxas?

I don't have a real typical day, let's say that I usually work during the day, in the evening I train or go to events or I often work again, I follow various projects at the same time, as an artist, art director and sometimes alt model. Actually, I would like to read more, because I used to when I was younger, now I’m always busy or tired.

Your collages are made up of repetition of provocative elements, inspired by nature, the body, death, violence, and sex, creating a strong visual impact. What sensation are you trying to produce in the viewers of your pieces?

Rather than looking for a reaction in the audience, I try to feel something first of all, it is this research that drives me to create. I'm also happy when what I create produces, communicates and stirs feelings in people, I often discover that my works are a real bridge of communication with people.

What is in the future for Abraxas? Where do you want to go with your art?

I have a lot of very beautiful photos that I would like to use to create collages, but currently I have dedicated myself more to videos, creating my first series for an exhibition in Berlin. I would also like to create a magazine of erotic photography in a vintage 70/80 style by aestheticizing some specific practices like peeing, fisting, scat etc. I hope I have the time to dedicate myself to this project soon. Also, as an art director I have started to work with a techno label and party in berlin, creating artworks and videos for track releases and curating performances. I would like to do more projects like this in the future. I also started to create clothes with my textures, this is another way I want to run in the future.

Where does the name Abraxas come from? What inspired you to name your alter ego that way?

Abraxas is a kind of demon with a rather dark history that crosses various traditions, from the Greek to the Gnostic and then contemporary esoteric Roman. I fell in love with this figure by reading about it in Jung's seven sermons to the dead, where it is described with great poetic mastery.

We can also see you at parties like Sodoma in Milan. What is your role in this party and what attracts you to that scene?

Being part of the Milanese nightlife, especially kinky parties, I was noticed and got invited to collaborate with them as pr- selector for darkrooms and dungeons, like what happened with Sodoma. I really like to combine passion for music and situations in which sexuality can also be expressed in a safe environment.