From music to photography to tattoos, Fabrizio Consoli has tapped into his creativity while bouncing from his native southern Italy to northern Italy to Spain to the Canary Islands and to London. For the past five years, he has lived in Brno. Photo: Bruno Zalubil
Brno, Mar 27 (BD) – When his guitar was stolen in Prague, he moved on from music. When he felt that photography had run its course, he sold his camera. Now he inks people with (un?)conventional designs or creates more personal and darker images that have established his artistic niche. Click here to see his portfolio.
Most of his family has moved from southern Italy to Brno, including his mother, who operates the Mediterranean restaurant Čikoria (Purkyňova 2855/97A in Královo Pole).
Tattoo design by Fabrizio Consoli
How did you end up in Brno?
My brother was here first. He gave me a call: ‘I’m working for Redhat. It’s fine. Send them your C.V. if you are looking for work.’ I thought ‘I’m going to come and visit, see how it is. Give it 20 days, a month to find a job.’ I ended up staying longer than that.
Where else have you lived?
I had really big dreams. I was playing guitar a lot and I thought it was really easy to be a rock star. I thought I had the mindset and the qualities. It was just not the right moment. I went to London and dreamed of bricklaying and playing with my band and drinking beer. It wasn’t that easy. Bedbugs. Home invasions. A lot came between me and that dream.
How did you get into tattooing?
I was working in a pub and starting to wake up. A guy told me once: ‘You can’t be with one ass on two chairs.’ I already was tattooing a little, but there wasn’t much commitment to it. So I sold my camera and took the same exact money and used it to buy the (tattooing) machine.
How has your tattoo work evolved?
My drawings were really basic when I started. I was really focused on finding my own style. Now I am drawing every day. I wake up and draw something that makes me feel good. Some people sell cat (tattoos) and things like that; I tend to draw people in cages or torture tools.
How do you create an image?
I never liked to draw human shapes and faces. Now I have found (an image) that I like. He is really helping me to make a mood. I start drawing the body, then I pull a line — maybe the shoulder is a bit down so I take that flow and that tension and I build a mood on that. This one is a little bit heavier for someone to get on their body than a rose or something like that. I can understand why it is not so popular, but I can see it is going somewhere.
How many tattoos do you have?
Eight. I’m really proud of the one on my chest. It is like a messed up bird that was meant to carry a bone on fire. I love it. I love the way the tattoo artist was engaged. He works in Berlin, but he is Italian. He did my chest, and the spider goat on my arm. I don’t like tattoos that look like symbols or like a code or like they want to mean something. These mean a lot to me. If I wanted to put it in words, I would have written a book.
Tattoo design by Fabrizio Consoli
Did you have any formal artistic training?
I went to an art school in Italy. There was a lot of stuff that I liked. Sometimes I just sketch some statues.
A lot of stuff resonates with me when it comes to culture and art. But I contemplate the present. I find the moment to see something at the present. I don’t feel like compromising. That has always been a struggle with me.
What was your impression of the expat community in Brno?
When I came here, the Immigrant was the only place in the town that was providing an international environment. All the rest were really just Czech pubs. Nobody would speak English in bars. You couldn’t get English service. I didn’t really see myself living here.
How is Brno different from Italy?
We don’t have this kind of drinking culture in Italy. We don’t sit at a table all night. We sit outside in the square. Now I like it here. I wish I liked it less.
Have you noticed any changes in Brno?
I saw it change, a lot. It is the first time in my life I can say `When I came here it was so different. . .‘
It is better. It is a lot better.
Are you able to communicate with locals?
I speak Czech. I can have a long philosophical discussion with someone, while doing plenty of mistakes, but many fewer mistakes than some people who have been here seven, eight years. I think most of the Expats work in IT, and working in IT, they speak English 90 percent of the time. They don’t have to speak Czech. I worked in an American diner for three and a half years. All the stuff was Czech. Customers were Czech. I came in as the chef. I guess I proved myself to be more than a burger flipper. After like two weeks they asked me to move to the bar so I had to speak Czech.
You’ve lived in a lot of different places. Is Brno the final stop?
What am I looking for? I think about what I am looking for and I think about what is not working for me in Brno and I think, well, where would that work better? I cannot find an answer. It is really hard to move out because it is really hard to find a place that I can imagine myself living better than this. The only problem that I am having is with making my art meet a market.
Much or your family are expats in Brno. Does that help?
My older brother, younger brother and my mother are all here. My older brother came first, then I came. Family here is like the cherry on top. Having a lot of friends is great, too. My girlfriend is amazed. Every restaurant, every pub we go to, there is always someone saying hi.
Tattoo design by Fabrizio Consoli
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