Photography by FABRIZIO NARCISI

SAGG NAPOLI

Artist

The Italian artist and former competitive archer, whose work mines then explodes our preconceived notions of class and gender, has become an Instagram phenomenon in the process of living her art.

WHAT IS YOUR TRADEMARK? My hometown, Napoli.

WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE? Mahmoud Darwish’s The Butterfly’s Burden.

NAME AN INFLUENCE OF YOURS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE. I am obsessed and deeply influenced by Rococo architecture.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SURPRISED YOURSELF IN YOUR PRACTICE? A lot of my work is based on patience. I wasn’t born patient though; it is something I [brought] myself with time. I guess when I see myself exercising patience, I am still surprised.

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR? I was the entertainer and I guess I still am.

“"I think people find my contradictions to be bad, while I think they are one of my biggest strengths."”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE? My ongoing research mapping the contemporary aesthetics, culture, and subculture of Southern Europe.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF? I would like to see people using their heart as much as they use their brain. And I would like to see less self-referential art.

WHAT DO YOU WANT NEXT FOR YOURSELF ABOVE ALL ELSE? I want to stay focused, remind myself I’ve got nothing to prove, continue making work that is honest, and enjoy the process—maybe get lost a little but have faith I will find my way back.

WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU? I think people find my contradictions to be bad, while I think they are one of my biggest strengths.

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