Photographer Valentina Loffredo’s pictures are worth at least a thousand words. Vibrant, graphic and playful, their irrefutable charm has garnered the Hong Kong-based Italian upwards of 80,000 followers on Instagram, as well as invites from brands, galleries and publications from around the world hoping to channel some of her whimsical appeal. We spoke to Valentina about what motivated her to first pick up the camera, where she finds her inspiration and what we can expect in the year ahead.‭ ‬

In 2013, I watched a Ted Talk called Try Something New for 30 Days” – and I did, every 30 days for a few months, until I tried photography and I stopped counting. Photography soon became a tool to express my artistic vision. Through my camera and careful planning, I started bringing to life the images I had in my mind. 

I find inspiration in the environment, in wordplay, in illustrations, in labels and in contradictions. It’s easy to find inspiration when your mind is receptive and looks for creative opportunities all the time.‭ ‬

Instagram gave me the precious opportunity to start as a stranger among strangers – and it was liberating. I felt free to experiment, make mistakes and get out of my comfort zone. 

I like the challenge that photography as a medium gives me, using reality to create something that started as imaginary. 

A True Story

Little

Tennis

Exclamation Point

Valentina Loffredo at home in Hong Kong

My photography celebrates possibility. The simple aesthetics are the way I give the people in my pictures a blank canvas, an opportunity. Through the beauty of open spaces and clean lines, I turn their complex feelings into something calm, positive and full of potential. 

I like to look at us, little people in a big world, as people at the beginning of a new path. I feel we are constantly at the beginning of something different, even life-changing, and there is a lot of hope in that. 

I just took my first step into the art world with my solo exhibition, presented by Novalis Contemporary Art Design in Hong Kong in February. Next, I’m heading to London to join The Other Art Fair, organised by Saatchi Art, and from May to November, my works will be exhibited in Personal Structures at the 57th Venice Art Biennale. 

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