On 9 October, I will present two books at Centro Culturale Cambio, exploring how drawing connects individual lives with democracy, memory and freedom of expression.
On Friday, 9 October 2026, at 6 pm, I will be at Centro Culturale Cambio in Castelfiorentino, in the Sala Conferenze Giovanni Parlavecchia, to present Vietato arrendersi. Chi lotta oggi per la democrazia and Zodiac. These books take different approaches to a question that runs through my work: how can drawing help us understand a person’s choices and the political circumstances surrounding them?
Vietato arrendersi, created with journalist Laura Cappon and published by BeccoGiallo, brings together ten true stories of people defending democracy and fundamental rights. Its protagonists confront authoritarianism, war and repression through their decisions to speak, organise and act. The book approaches these struggles through individual experiences, giving readers a way to understand political events through the people living them.
For me, drawing these stories means accepting a responsibility towards the people represented. A portrait asks the reader to pause. Behind a report about repression or a demonstration is someone with relationships, hopes and a life that extends beyond the moment when they become news. Laura’s writing and my drawings work together to preserve that human dimension.
The book also addresses younger readers, inviting them to consider democracy through concrete situations. What does freedom mean when speaking publicly carries a risk? What makes someone decide to defend another person’s rights? What happens when a choice that begins as personal becomes part of a collective struggle? These are questions I hope we can discuss in Castelfiorentino.
Zodiac, created with Ai Weiwei and Elettra Stamboulis, approaches freedom through the memories and imagination of an artist. Published in Italy by Oblomov Edizioni, it uses the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac to move through experiences of childhood, family, artistic discovery and political conflict.
Its structure follows the movements of memory rather than a straightforward chronology. Chinese folklore enters into dialogue with episodes from Ai Weiwei’s life, allowing different periods and ideas to meet on the page. The relationship between artistic expression and intellectual freedom emerges through this interplay of lived experience, symbolism and reflection.
Drawing Zodiac required me to think about how an image can hold both a remembered event and an imagined encounter. Elettra’s writing brings these elements into a narrative in which personal history remains connected to larger questions about authority, identity and the artist’s place in society. The book grew from conversations, research and the process of translating a distinctive voice into comics.
Presenting these two works together offers an opportunity to explore the different forms that graphic journalism and visual storytelling can take. In Vietato arrendersi, we encounter ten lives shaped by the defence of rights. In Zodiac, we follow one artist’s reflections across memory, myth and history. Both ask us to spend time with people whose choices help us understand the world around us.
I look forward to sharing the stories behind the books, discussing the work of drawing them and hearing your questions.
The meeting takes place on Friday, 9 October, at 6 pm, in the Sala Conferenze Giovanni Parlavecchia at Centro Culturale Cambio, Castelfiorentino.
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