Meet Olivia Lovito: Multidisciplinary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olivia Lovito and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I evaluate risk in everything I do, but it’s a feeling I’ve become drawn to overtime. If I’m nervous about a shoot or a project, I know that it just means that I care deeply about it and want it to be perfect. Risk is also subjective. Being an artist is risky because success isn’t guaranteed. I believe the world doesn’t owe me anything, and that I need to create the life I want to have. The idea of building that life is what draws me to risk instead of pushing me away from it. I was shy about my art for a long time— I didn’t even post my work online until 2018. That summer I ran into one of my favorite photographers in a coffee shop in London and realized I had no public work to show her. The next day I created @luckymercury and have been posting on it since. I avoided Instagram for many years because it felt too accessible. I realize now that it’s a really important tool for any artist. Although my relationship with social media has changed a lot since then, putting my work online is just as scary and risky as it felt the first time. The art I make is directly tied to who I am, so exposing myself like that makes risk a constant in my life. 

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally? Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way? What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My art spans across multiple mediums, so sometimes it’s hard to explain what I do as an artist. If I had to label myself, I would probably consider myself a multidisciplinary artist, as I am a filmmaker, a photographer, and a digital artist. My work is typically 2D and I make almost everything on my laptop. My art is tied to who I am, and being phase-oriented causes me to experiment with different mediums often. I think above anything else I am curious and anxious. I want to do everything and try everything because I know that art is learnable and I am a learner. Knowing this about myself has transformed the way I work entirely. I don’t feel like I’m losing passion in anything I do because I know that all my feelings and ideas can’t be expressed through one single medium. Understanding the way I work has allowed me to not limit myself to one style or aesthetic either. I am more interested in creating paradoxes and visual metaphors. I like to add “easter eggs” into a lot of my work as well. It’s important for there to be meaning in everything I create. I am very excited for this upcoming year. Being on lockdown for most of 2020 has introduced me to new hobbies like rug tufting and making music. Most importantly it allowed me to slow down creatively and really focus on what I want professionally. I am excited to graduate this spring and am welcoming all opportunities with open arms.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have a lot of people to credit for who I am as an artist today. Most importantly, my family’s support in what I do makes it all possible. The fact that they believe in me makes me be able to believe in myself. My friends are also central to my creative process. It’s important for me to be surrounded by accepting and creative people, as my life experiences are what inspires my work. Without my friends modeling for me and helping me with projects, I wouldn’t be able to create the content that I do.

Website: www.luckymercury.work
Instagram: LuckyMercury
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHHR3ia3GulXe-ZPQChYq6w

Image Credits
Olivia Lovito