Tell us a little bit about yourselves and what you do.
Our names are Nicola and Manuele, both born in 1999 in Lugano, a small town in the Italian part of Switzerland. We are an artistic duo called Tristebacio (sadkiss in English), and we mainly do sculpture and installations.

How did you two decide to begin working together, and what do you value in working collaboratively?
We have known each other since we were children and started thinking about art projects together practically from the beginning, the collaboration came about very naturally on the basis of a long friendship. What we appreciate most about working together is that you always have a double vision on each project, if we are both convinced of an idea it is much easier to avoid getting lost in excessive thinking. Also, since we are both very indecisive, working together is probably the only way to make a final decision.

What are the main motifs in your work? What kind of imagery are you drawn to?
As Tristebacio we reason each project collectively, from the conception of the idea to its realization. Our projects usually start from a shared interest, emotion, or feeling and are then transformed into an installation closely related to the space. We use a wide range of media and reason each project differently, using different techniques. Recurring aspects in our work are the use of bright colors and glossy effects. We use traditional objects and architectural elements from the past that are still in use in everyday life and in which we find a strong poetic aura. We are interested in reformulating these elements by putting them in dialogue with an aesthetic characterized by digital images and contemporary sentiments, to create a surreal, fictional and melancholic world. In addition to the dialogue between past and present, we work on the borderline between virtual and tangible, evoking an imaginary world with underlying emotions belonging to real life.

Your exhibition, 4 Spade nel Cuore, recently opened with the Bacio Collective in Bern, Switzerland. Can you speak about your ideas behind the works in that show and the process behind their creation?
The whole project is inspired by Italian giallo films of the 1960s-70s. Giallo is an Italian genre very similar to the thriller characterized by a very splatter and exaggerated aesthetic; some examples of important directors for this genre are Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Pupo Avati, and Mario Bava. The whole exhibition has clear references to these films, and the general idea is to take this splatter and violent aesthetic and relate it to the mental violence one feels when one is a victim of judgment, whether by others or by oneself.

You often work with ceramic tiles in your installations, can you speak about how you were introduced to this medium and what draws you to working with it?
Ceramics is a medium that has always fascinated us and with which we both worked even before founding Tristebacio. In 2022 we made Sky’s the limit, our first work with printed tiles. On that occasion, while we were visiting the exhibition space, we came up with the idea of making a tile floor; from there on we became passionate about this medium and in subsequent projects, we developed the technique until we made and painted the tiles entirely by hand.

Can you speak about the conditions in Lugano that gave rise to your project Toi Toi? How was the project received by your community?
The period leading up to the Toi Toi exhibition was one of the darkest for Ticino’s independent scene. Within a few months, all of the self-managed/independent spaces that brought alternative culture to Lugano were closed or even destroyed, as in the case of the former slaughterhouse. The city gave a clear signal and came out strongly against independent culture. In the period that followed, various people and collectives mobilized to reclaim cultural spaces. At that time, we felt we had to make our own contribution by holding an exhibition in three portable chemical toilets as a sign of protest against the city’s attitude.

Are there any influences that are core to your work?
Our approach is mainly based on aspects of everyday life that particularly affect us, we are also influenced by multiple areas such as design, fashion, music and architecture.

What do you collect?
We collect coffee machines, couches, fruit stickers, grocery bags, restaurant napkins, instruction booklets and more.

Do you have any rituals when you arrive at your studio/workspace?
When we arrive at the studio the first thing we do is have coffee, answer e-mails, and draw up a detailed schedule of everything we need to do during the day. The rest varies greatly depending on the project we are working on.

What are some of the recent, current or upcoming projects you are working on?
We have many new projects coming out in 2025, many of which will be different from what we have done so far. Stay tuned! :- )

 

Interview conducted by Luca Lotruglio.