Italian football ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of football fans. The majestic stadia, the iconic kits, the stars and their flamboyant style…we could go on and on.
Everything looks better and just sounds better in Italian.
It was Andrea Pirlo in 2006 that first drew photographer Lewis Urquhart towards the Italian game. From there his obsession quickly grew into an addiction, now spending any free time he has taking in matches and documenting what he experiences exclusively on film.
Born a Leeds United fan, Lewis refuses to be drawn into any Italian allegiances, allowing him to instead focus on recording the abundant visual delights that the Italian leagues offer.
The respect he has for the supporters and Italian fan culture is clear, Lewis eloquently describing the ‘patronising’ way in which many tourist fans try and infiltrate groups of ultras just for the sake of creating content.
His words are authentic, and his photographs capture all that passion and grandeur – with just the right amount of grain.
Lower Block: Where are you from and where do you currently live?
Lewis Urquhart: I’m from Leeds – but now live on the dark side of the Pennines (Manchester).
LB: Who do you support? Do you specifically follow any Italian teams?
LU: I’ve been a Leeds United fan since I can remember. Absolutely no room for choice in my household – my Dad and older brother made sure of it!
LU: I try to remain impartial with Italian allegiances. I definitely have my soft spots but as I never know where I’m going next I try not to let any prejudices effect my experience of a club, I think if I added any personal tribalism it would only get a bit clouded.
I find it important to try and approach it as documentation rather than some kind of patronising turncoat fandom in which I change my allegiance every week. I think that’s becoming quite a common way of documenting fandom in modern footie coverage, especially on YouTube, you don’t need to be ‘in with the ultra’s’ if you’re hopping back on a RyanAir flight the next day.
These things are sacred to people and I think it can in some instances trivialise it slightly. You can’t just force your way into something so deeply linked to people’s way of life without taking some serious effort into understanding it first.
LB: Who were your footballing idols growing up? What drew you towards the Italian game?
LU: Like many football fans who now find themselves approaching their mid-20’s, when I was a teenager Pirlo was my guy, I spent the Euro 2012 summer growing my hair out, buying his half black-half white Tiempo’s and misplacing long passes.
I first started paying attention and understanding football during the 2006 world cup. I began to take an interest in why certain teams were good, why certain teams were sh** and who all the best players played for. At that tournament the answer was quite often A.C. Milan.
My earliest live football memories are all related to Leeds United or watching my older brother play Sunday League – with both teams playing at a not too dissimilar level at the time(!).
LB: Are there any experiences that helped connected you to football and football culture – in particular Italian football?
LU: I’d love to have a really artistic or meaningful answer to this question but unfortunately I don’t. I honestly just think it’s fascinating – I find it really interesting. Flares, regional tribalism, tifos etc; for a photographer, what’s not to love? They do the hard part for you. It’s so easy to capture distinctly visually interesting moments when within that world because it’s all performance – they’re trying to intimidate each other and one of the key ways to do that is to look visually impressive, synchronised, colourful and co-ordinated. They’re a perfect subject for a photographer.
LB: Do you have a favourite photograph from this series?
LU: I have a few highlights but I’ll pick one from A.C. Milan versus Fiorentina at San Siro – a nicely dressed seemingly well-to-do Milanese man giving it full expletive beans to the away section. Sums it all up pretty nicely.
LB: What kit did you use?
LU: I started out with a Kodak i60 but that unfortunately packed it in after my first trip – since then I’ve been using LeBox disposable camera’s – very light, easy to pocket and an added bonus is these are much easier to explain to confused Italian police when getting searched on my way into the ground. They were always so hesitant about the reusable camera for some reason.
LB: How did you get into photography? Do you have anymore plans for your project?
LU: I’ve always enjoyed working on still and moving image – I was a filmmaking student at MMU but never abandoned my initial love for still photography work. My preference between the two changes as often as the weather.
LU: I’d love to try and really nail a documentary series on Italian football culture – people who speak much better Italian than I always say it’s very hard to translate some of the feelings and sentiments associated with it to English language and an English speaking audience, I think that’d be a really interesting challenge.
Next up for me is the Milan Derby, Monza vs Lecce and Hellas Verona vs Bologna in September (If all goes to plan).
LB: How can people connect and keep up with your work?
LU: The main avenue for keeping up with or contacting me is Twitter as I share the links to the blog posts there, I’m @Calciolewis on Instagram and Twitter. I do a dated gallery for each game I attend and some more in depth travel stuff in between.
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