The images of Luca Ortis explore nature’s mystery and power. With many years of experience in Japanese tattooing and a deep immersion in Asian visual culture, his photography reflects a modern form of animism. Inspired by Pictorialism and Song dynasty painting, his work reveals unseen forces, transforming each photograph into a meditation and a living totem.

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Luca Ortis: My images explore nature’s mysterious and powerful attributes. For 25 years, my work in Horimono (traditional Japanese tattooing) has immersed me in Japanese folklore and Asian visual culture, shaping my approach to image-making. Photography, to me, is a modern form of animism.  Recognising and capturing the spirit within certain landscapes and natural objects. Like the Pictorialists, I see photography as more than documentation; it is a way to reveal deeper, metaphysical truths.

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My work also echoes Song dynasty landscape painting, where artists sought not to depict nature literally but to evoke its essence. My photographs function similarly, not as records but as meditations on presence, impermanence, and unseen forces. Pressing the shutter is an act of recognition, acknowledging the rare vitality some places hold. My hand-crafted printing process, with handmade paper and botanical toners, is a ritual that transforms the final piece into a totem—a physical embodiment of my connection to the natural world.

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About

Luca Ortis is a self-taught London-based artist. He has been working as a tattooist specialising in traditional Japanese tattooing for 25 years. Since 2023, he has started exploring photography and printmaking, focusing on historical photographic processes. He primarily works with cyanotype and botanical toners, using traditional Japanese paper and gold leaf. In 2024, he exhibited four pieces as part of the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and participated in the Symbiosis 2 group exhibition organised by the London Alternative Photography Collective.

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