Between travels and creativity
Introduction by Antonio Panareo – Story Time, radio evolution
Welcome back to Story Time by Antonio Panareo, we are in the radio space of Radio Canale Italia together with Sofia, who is an artist, Syamhope it’s her name, let’s say into her creative phase, let’s say how she signs her creations.
However, before starting our good talk with her, I want to remember you of our Story Time social pages: first of all our Instagram with @storytime_ufficiale and secondly our Facebook storytime official, I think we are now ready to start our talk, therefore… Welcome Syamhope!
Syamhope: Thank you very much
Antonio Panareo: Thank you for accepting our invitation. for being here at Story Time
Syamhope: It’s a pleasure
Antonio Panareo: Then, tell a bit about yourself, how did you start craving art? Because backstage you told me that you didn’t really follow the classic path that anyone would imagine
Syamhope: Well… No, let’s say that to me art has always been, you know, a way to escape, a way to travel, then yes
Antonio Panareo: A way to travel, to grow apart…
Syamhope: Also, maybe in some way both of them, then I have always loved making custom gifts therefore I have always tried to use art to look at the world and well, also to create stuff, new points of view, new perceptions
Antonio Panareo: But what is the first type of art that fascinated you? The one that made you say: “Well, let’s try”?
Syamhope: Well, I’m in love with colors, I can remain hours staring just at colors, so yes, they have always fascinated me and led me to experiment a lot in painting, and try
Antonio Panareo: Therefore, especially painting, but I know you also are into sculpture sometimes
Syamhope: Well, not really sculpture, but I like artisanal creations, therefore handmade, from earrings to recycling, to reusing, which nowadays is defined as upcycling…
Antonio Panareo: Of course, thus giving a new life, that perhaps is even better than recycling – because recycling implies that you take some material, let’s say, an object, and split it up to eventually make something else, whereas upcycling means you actually reuse it directly without making…
Syamhope: Yes, you reuse it, but you completely change its use
Antonio Panareo: Exactly, its use, even better, you improve it because, in fact, it’s about upcycling, not down-cycling, obviously… Great, then, another thing that I wanted to try to get better from you, it’s the travel dimension, because you told me that undoubtedly art is a way to grow apart, to travel itself, but the same travels made you expand your artistic path
Syamhope: Yes, at the start I started to travel alone in Italy, a little by going to meet some friends, a little on my own, then I started to travel abroad and right now I’m in Cordoba, indeed
Antonio Panareo: Okay
Syamhope: Yes, I came back some days, I’ve taken advantage of it
Antonio Panareo: Great, we did the same to get you here, as our guest. What do you like about Cordoba or what surprised you?
Syamhope: Uhm, maybe in some way its magic, the fact that art is something right there on the streets, in the people
Antonio Panareo: Sure
Syamhope: There is lots of reading culture, they read a lot, poetries as well as books, there’s a lot of music and in general art culture, there are many artists all around, this is something I’m really fond of
Antonio Panareo: And compared to Italy, do you think that Italy or whatever the Padua dimension doesn’t rather have the same impact as that culture brought to the street has?
Syamhope: Well, maybe Padua it’s a bit shy about some things…
Antonio Panareo: A bit closed
Syamhope: Not closed, but shy because in reality there are many artists anyway but…
Antonio Panareo: Is there less interaction?
Syamhope: Yes, maybe
Antonio Panareo: All right, another curiosity I have – I apologize if the question might sound banal or dumb, free to not answer, to send me to hell – I wanted to ask you: how have you made your art or, anyway, a great dose of your passion, a job as well? I mean, I imagine that most of the time, such as it happens to me as a speaker, people tell you: “But what’s your job? I’m an artist or I’m a speaker”, and usually they answer me: “No, your real job?” Does it happen to you the same?
Syamhope: It happens to me a lot, we get each other
Antonio Panareo: I don’t know if this thing makes me feel better but…
Syamhope: I don’t know but I take it a bit easy meaning that in the end if you don’t do something you like you come back home tired, with no energy, and… I don’t know, I think you don’t really live, so first of all I needed to believe it, I mean, I needed to get out of this idea that art, being an artist can’t be a job
Antonio Panareo: okay
Syamhope: It can be a job, and I have decided that this is my path
Antonio Panareo: Maybe, that’s the point, it’s amazing that art isn’t a job meaning that it isn’t the typical canonic occupation but if want to live with it, obviously you need to schedule, organize, also to take advantage of the good moments you have in the same way
Syamhope: Yes, let’s say that if you are an artist o if you have other jobs out of the routine, you don’t have your present already packed and prepared, you need to create it by yourself and, to say the truth, it’s something I really like. Finally, it’s like a challenge, you need to get out of your comfort zone
Antonio Panareo: That’s right
Syamhope: In my case, I started by changing my point of view and understanding that what I was doing is worthy and that it is my path, I mean I like many things but what makes me feel good it was and it is art, creating
Antonio Panareo: There you are! Since we still have some minutes, I wanted to ask you what you are working on right now – if you can share it, and what you would like to achieve, what is your next ambition, your next challenge?
Syamhope: Well, right now I’m working between illustration and comic, especially I’m also collaborating with several artists in Cordoba – such as Rafael Bilcor and Marlem with whom I exhibited the most, and then also with an association called La Casa Azul, which has a cultural approach, meaning that it tries to help people that would normally get emarginated and it tries to do it through art
Antonio Panareo: That’s nice
Syamhope: …also it tries to create a group of artists, perhaps what I was missing here
Antonio Panareo: Nice, that being shy which maybe there isn’t there in Spain, that you can’t find at first compared to Padua
Syamhope: I don’t know, maybe it is a different approach
Antonio Panareo: Sure, but look, the important thing is that you feel good, be it here, in Thailand, or Japan, who cares, I mean…
Syamhope: Yes, everyone has their own place
Antonio Panareo: Yes, there is no law, one could find their dimension in Cinisello Balsamo so to speak, or in Pizzo Calabro, anyway the important thing is that you feel good, you find your lifeblood for yourself, your art. It made me smile that since you mentioned “La Casa Azul” you have started to slightly get that manner of talking, that marvelous accent of someone who lives in the double phase of the Italian and Spanish language, great!
Syamhope: Yes, I need to switch, to change the language
Antonio Panareo: Of course, but look you are even too good, but to me it’s cute, I mean it’s a nice thing, it wasn’t a critic – to be clear, anyway as you heard the arrangement remembers us that the radio time is always more infamous than I wished, then to conclude I’ll ask you which are your contacts, such as your web social to follow you and also to reach you for you jewelry
Syamhope: Well for the jewelry and in reality above all for illustrations and paintings, commissions you can contact me on Instagram, my website, and search my art name that is Syamhope with “Y Graeca”
Antonio Panareo: Yes, with wye
Syamhope: Yes, with “Y” and hope
Antonio Panareo: Nice, really nice, well thank you Syamhope, or Sofia, thank you for being here with us, I’m really glad that you have been our guest here at Story Time, I hope this radio baptism had been less traumatic than what one could expect
Syamhope: Definitely, it was amazing
Antonio Panareo: Great, I’m glad, I really wish you deeply from my heart all the best for your life and especially for your art
Syamhope: Thank you very much
Antonio Panareo: To you, Story Time comes back to the radio space of Canale Italia, by Antonio Panareo it’s all, see you in the next history!