Naná Dalla Porta

Profile

The work of Milanese artist Nanà Dalla Porta is very much like that of nineteenth-century Franco-Montevidean poet Isidore Ducasse, the self-styled Comte de Lautréamont: whimsical, dark, stylized, slightly unsettling but slightly more wilfully absurd. And, of course, populated by octopods. At the heart of Lautréamont's bestiary is the magnificent mollusc, 'the most beautiful of nature's beasts'. Our Nanà too was incurably smitten with the species in his youth, when he wrestled the tenacious critters bare-handed off the Sicilian coast. Indeed, this is how he earned the nickname 'Oktopus'. But there's even more to the comparison. Like Lautréamont again, Nanà is the archetypal precocious pupil. Bored with his staid schoolmasters, he sketches their distorted caricatures in his lesson book. Shall they be vampires today? Grinning skulls? Or marauding Wookies? These exercises have produced a fantastic portfolio of illustrations for prints, posters, book and music album covers, beer labels , commercial products , murals and advertising campaigns. Across various media and genres, Nanà's hand is recognizable for his versatility, dexterity, and above all, his formidable sense of humor.