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I was fortunate enough to be asked to feature in the Australia issue of L’Uomo Vogue magazine (the men’s version of Vogue produced here in Italy) alongside some new Australian talents making it big here in Italy. Here it is, fully translated, for those who were not able to read it in print.
Photos by Elisabetta Claudio. Make-Up by Eleonora Juglair.
Read Australian New Wave in PDF (Italian).
SAMUEL WEBSTER
Writer and Director
by Kylie Flavell
Part of “Australian New Wave: Singers, Sportsmen, Diplomats and Directors. Winners, but abroad.” – L’Uomo Vogue March 2014.
Translated by Samuel Webster (with permission).
In a young and modern country like Australia, it is perhaps inevitable that a creative soul like Samuel Webster – young poet, writer, photographer, filmmaker and jazz musician – dreams of a country like Italy – a more romantic land, rich in history.
“Australians are very well received here in Italy,” Webster says, but he also notes that there’s a lack of knowledge of the continent Down Under. “I think Australia represents a ‘false paradise’ for many Italians. It is a country so far away that many know little about it and they just imagine it with wonderful shores, hot summers and beautiful girls. I also think that foreigners have a “retouched” vision of Italy, but that’s part of the nature of being a foreigner. Until you live in a country, you cannot understand the challenges it faces.”
You will not find this guy among the expats at the foreigner’s pub in Florence, Milan or Rome. He lives in the small town of Pieve Santo Stefano (Arezzo). An odd choice for a 28 year old? Perhaps, but he loves the feeling of belonging. “My trip to Italy was to last only five weeks. The project Bella Toscana consisted of a photo tour in Italy organised with my creative partner, Alessia Clusini. Alessia is an artistic director of incredible talent, and when the project came to an end, we continued to work in her hometown where I fell in love with the locals. “
A rural lifestyle is not holding this enterprising artist back. He has just published a book, Silencing the Dictator (and other poems), and is working on a novel, a translation project, a documentary and a short film. In April, he will launch an art installation in Tuscany and he is planning a documentary about Muslim migration. At the same time, he will curate his own work for an exhibition in Turin. “I love my life because it is wonderfully different.”
Forgot the tortured artist. Webster is a deep talent, but clearly positive and happy.
YOU are wonderfully different 🙂 xx
[…] took these photos while I was in Rome, having my photo taken for an article in L’Uomo Vogue. […]