Q&A: Luca Bosani

The beauty of The Global F.C. is that we’re in the business of creating a community that shares our passion for football and the desire to inspire, educate, and inform the next generation of football fans around the world. We’re not in it to make money, but rather to build a brand that brings people together and bridges the gap between the niche footballer and the new.

Over the last few months a number of folks have reached out asking about The Global F.C., encouraging us to check out their page and like their products. While we do our best to curate the most original football-inspired pieces for our followers, we look for people and stories that venture into new and unusual spaces in hopes of inspiring us all to get out of our comfort zone and pursue our passions.

With that in mind, we’ve been connecting with folks in the football industry who have stories to tell and knowledge to spread. Whether it be their personal story, connection with football, or lessons they’ve learned along the way, we hope our Q&A series will provide a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

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Our first Q&A is with London based artist and lecturer, Luca Bosani, who is constantly exploring and challenging the boundaries of performance art in the classroom and on the streets. Hailing from Italy and moving to London to pursue a career in art and design, football has been a staple of his life since he was 9 years old. Growing up he played for his hometown clubs of G.S. Pregnanese and G.S. Aurora, the regional club U.S. Settimo Milanese, and at amateur level for Europassirana ‘89. There’s a saying in Italy that goes, “Italians grow up with bread and football,” and Luca’s story is no different. 

In the questions below, we touch on Luca’s story, where he draws inspiration from, his unusual connection with shoes and how he is using football to explore uncharted territory in the world of art and design.

1. How did you come to appreciate football and what are some of your earliest football memories?

In Italy football is everywhere - everyone talks about it, everyone follows it, everyone plays it, and everyone loves it with a passion. I guess that’s where my appreciation for football originated. My surroundings and the context for where I was inserted. While I don’t have a single, standout football memory from my childhood I cannot forget: 

• The sprint of Michael Owen

• The class of Dennis Bergkamp

• The strength of George Weah

• The technique of Leonardo

2. What inspired you to explore your creative side to start making art? How did that evolve into wanting to create football-specific pieces?

Colour gradients, harmonious forms, balanced compositions, cornicette (typical Italian pre-writing activity, which literally translates in english to ‘little frames’), tangram puzzles, manga illustrations and geometry. These interests, which I’ve cultivated since my early years evolved with time and in 2013 brought me to the decision of moving to London (UK) to study and practice fine art full-time. There I started researching and creating artworks inspired by the development of individual and collective identity. In doing so, I began using football as a metaphor to explore human interactions, power dynamics, and sexuality. 

I looked back to my upbringing and understood that football, in addition to being a great sport, has many polarizing aspects - toxic competition, unnecessary violence, ongoing discrimination. In my artworks, via visual metaphors, I question and challenge these issues, proposing fluid and inclusive modes of being.

3. What is it about creating art that you enjoy so much? Is it the process, is it the final product? What inspires you to keep pushing the boundaries to create unique pieces?

At the core, it is an intrinsic motivation and a great passion for research, experimentation, and problem solving. In addition to that, I very much enjoy the process of learning new techniques, testing new materials, and educating myself on something which was previously alien to me. These activities keep me proactive and facilitate the discovery of new, creative solutions. Ultimately, I use these drivers as tools to better understand myself and the world around me so I can more consciously and more respectfully navigate the challenges of tomorrow.

4. We would love to learn more about your fascination with shoes and football boots. How did these objects inspire you to develop some of the art pieces available online?

I am very fascinated by the relationship between a pair of shoes and their owner. Of all the garments we wear, shoes are usually consumed until they are no longer salvageable. They are very personal objects which cannot be easily borrowed or lent to another person.

When it comes to football boots, each manufacturer is making a promise to the player that their boots will deliver a faster run, a more precise pass, a higher jump, or all of the above. I cannot confirm or deny that these statements are true, but I can assure you that when I’m wearing a shoe that fits just right my performance on the field feels enhanced. It might be the placebo effect in full force, but when wearing the Nike Mercurial R9s in electric blue, orange, and white I felt like I was surfing on grass. When wearing the Nike Tiempos, my passes felt more precise. And when wearing the Adidas Predators, stopping and crossing the ball felt much more fluid.

After experiencing these strong connections with my boots growing up, I decided to create the Sculptural Shoes; both as a homage to and a reinterpretation of these vivid memories. Starting with the shoes I wore in my last official football matches (2012-2013), a series of odd creatures came alive. Initially viewed as pranks or tricks, these pieces morphed into something fun, but deadly serious - just like a good football match. In many ways, “hanging up my boots” opened the door to a very different way of expressing my love for the game. As far as I can remember, this “game” has been a loyal companion of mine through the good times and the bad and has given me an outlet for which to pursue my passion.

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Football by Photo

If you’d like to view the exclusive photo series for this story, click here.

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A NOTE TO LUCA

from The Global F.C.

Thank you, Luca, for your time and commitment to helping us spread the beautiful game. Collaborating over the last few weeks has been educational and inspiring for the team over here at The Global F.C and we hope this piece accurately sheds lights on your story, your passions, and your continued desire to explore the unknown. Here’s to many more years of creating art, educating our youth, and inspiring the next generation of football fans around the world. We’re glad to call you our amico.