Symbols in Skin and Steel

A chess piece in a hand. A line of ink that means something only to the one who wears it. In the studio nothing is accidental – so everything a person brings in front of my light is a choice: the symbols in their skin, the objects they hold, the body they have built. 

These portraits collect such choices, one person at a time – because what they show cannot be faked.

Jenny – Checkmate Confidence

"Checkmate Confidence" presents a powerful blend of strength and poise, embodied by the woman poised beside a chessboard. Her intense gaze and relaxed posture reveal a quiet mastery, while the interplay of light highlights her tattoos and delicate attire, challenging conventional expectations. This piece expresses a bold narrative of inner power and calculated resolve.

This work was honored with the 2026 Golden Shot Award (Silver, Portrait Category).

Indifferent: fine art portrait of a woman drawing chewing gum from her lips, looking away from the viewer. Stefano Viani

Indifferent

A woman sits under the viewer's gaze — appraised, desired, judged. Her answer is a small, deliberate gesture: she draws the gum from her lips and looks away. In that instant the power shifts. She knows she is watched as an object of desire, and she refuses it. Not seduction, but indifference — the quiet sovereignty of someone who has decided the observer does not interest her.

Jenny's Gambit

The hand is already on the piece, the move not yet made. A gambit is a sacrifice: you give something up to gain the better position — and you cannot know beforehand whether it will pay off. What interests me in this picture is not the board but the second before it: the moment when a decision has been made but is not yet visible. Anyone who builds themselves knows that second.

This work received an Honorable Mention at the 2026 International Photography Awards (People – Portrait).

Acquire the series 

Symbols in Skin and Steel is available in three tiers: 

  • Print-on-demand (open edition): prints in 8 × 12″, 12 × 18″, 16 × 24″, and 20 × 30″ – the open way into the series.
  • Limited fine-art editions (alu-dibond): museum-grade print on alu-dibond, hand-signed and numbered, run of 15, in 24 × 36″, 30 × 40″, 36 × 48″, and 40 × 60″ – each with a certificate of authenticity. Fixed price per format – a running counter shows how many of the 15 are already sold.
  • The original (1/1): a single unique piece per motif, with its own certificate – on request.
Posters and postcards via the shop; editions and original on request → contact.
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A piece of the road. For every day.

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A Harley-Davidson Street on a high road in the morning. A line of machines waiting for their riders. A canyon where helmet and machine give away that someone is out there. Three quiet images from the road, taken where I'm at home. Sign up, and they're yours.

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