Beyond Form: Identity, Colour and Narrative by Andrea Azzolin

The female figure is the common thread of your work: what are you interested in investigating today regarding this theme, compared to when you started?
In the beginning, the female figure was an almost intuitive choice, linked primarily to a formal exploration and a visual imagery that felt close to me. Over time, it became a tool to explore something more complex: not so much representing the feminine, but constructing images that speak of identity, presence, and relationship. Today, I am mainly interested in what the figure is capable of generating within the image: tensions, silences, and different possibilities of interpretation.

In recent projects, you have been working heavily with color: when did you realize it could become a structural element rather than just an aesthetic one?
I think I realized it when I started removing elements instead of adding them. At a certain point, color stopped being a simple filler and began to construct space, define hierarchies, and create rhythm and atmosphere. Today I consider it a parallel language: it doesn’t describe, but it guides the reading of the image, often allowing its emotion to be perceived even before the form.

You are currently pursuing a master’s degree in editorial illustration: what aspect has most challenged your way of constructing an image?
The most important thing I am questioning is the need to control everything and to always maintain a clean line. In the past, I tended to construct very closed images, where every element had a precise function. The master’s program is teaching me to leave more room for openness and ambiguity, accepting that not everything needs to be explicit. I’ve realized that a shaky or imperfect line can carry greater expressive power than one that is excessively controlled.

When working on covers or posters, how much do you think in narrative terms and how much room do you leave for visual intuition?
It depends a lot on the project, but generally, I start from a visual intuition—from an essential, synthesized image. The narrative aspect comes later, as a way of validating that initial intuition: it helps me understand if that intuition truly works or if it needs to be developed. In covers and posters, I always seek a balance between clarity and openness, constructing readable images that nonetheless leave room for personal interpretation.

Is there a difference in your approach between personal and commissioned work, or do you try to maintain the same language in both?
The main difference lies in the starting point. In personal work, I start from an inner need, whereas in commissioned projects, I start from a context and a specific request. However, I try to maintain the same visual language. Rather than adapting completely to the brief, I am interested in understanding how to make my way of storytelling dialogue with the project’s objectives.

Looking at your recent path, was there a moment when you felt you truly changed direction or awareness in your work?
Rather than a change of direction, I would call it a growth in awareness. My visual language has remained fairly consistent, but the way I construct images has changed. I have come to understand how crucial it is for an illustration to contain something that goes beyond a mere aesthetic solution: a meaning, a narrative tension, an emotion. At the same time, I try to avoid the most immediate or literal answers, preferring to work through metaphors and layers of interpretation that can enrich the viewer’s experience.