Interview with Giulia Pex and Giada Duino (The Tennessee Horses - BD Editions)

Our interview with Giulia Pex and Giada Duino who sign their first project together for Edizioni BD, entitled The Horses of Tennessee, presented for the first time and officially at Lucca Comics and Games 2022. We had the opportunity to interview the two young artists.

Giulia has been collaborating with Corriere della Sera since 2017 and publishes Khalat, her first comic, in 2019 with Hoppipolla Edizioni. Giada, writer and illustrator, with The Horses of Tennessee is struggling with her first publication.

Interview with Giulia Pex and Giada Duino: a great collaboration

The collaboration between the two artiste was born in a particularly harmonious context. In fact, they are much more than just colleagues.

We have known each other for a while, we are friends. We said "why don't we do something together?". We understand each other a lot, we are on the same wavelength. It was a time when I had to take a creative writing course, and I started writing. The course has never started, but the book is there. | ); }
Giada Duino and Giulia Pex at Lucca Comics and Games The Horses of Tennessee opens with a preface that, somehow, would not even seem written by a third person, so much is in line and in harmony with the tale. The artist in question is Adele Altro, a singer and musician whom Giulia and Giada greatly appreciate.

It was we who asked Adele to write the preface to our book. We follow what she does, we like her music. She seemed like the closest person to our job. | ); } The preface by Adele Altro introduces a very current story, in which it is impossible not to reflect oneself at least once. It is the story of Adria, who between a marine biology lesson and a relationship at the end of the line, she tries to put together the pieces to write new pages in her life. It is also the story of Roberto and Tommaso, who meet while taking their dogs for a walk, giving life to a new and unexpected relationship.

In a few pages, this double story is filled with long moments of everyday life. Indeed, the numerous tables created by Giulia Pex are striking, which immortalize details of the routine, or rituals such as the preparation of coffee. It is natural to wonder if they are inspired by the life of the two artists.

There is a bit of everything about us. These small gestures do not seem so small, but when there was the covid and we were all at home, without them there could have been no day. Then the truth is that I like to draw all those little “useless moments”.



The solution is a bit halfway there. On the one hand, perhaps there is a subsequent step where the protagonist evolves and becomes aware of it, and she could accept herself, on the other hand we don't know what she might be. I also find it hard to look to the future, I can't imagine it. It is part of our generation. I preferred to focus on what you have to say now without looking ahead because you are often afraid. I didn't want to give importance to the after.

Past and future projects

As mentioned, this is not the first job for Giulia Pex. In addition to her experience with Corriere della Sera, certainly different from the publication of a book, preceding The Horses of Tennessee is Khalat, the long journey undertaken by a Kurdish girl after a great conflict that upsets her life. What is it like to go from the newspaper to a completed project, and how does the first job influence the one with Edizioni BD?

Corriere's people are very nice because they always make me use my style and make me express when they have an article in my strings. But I really like working on things that I can then browse, perhaps with a hard cover. Actually, I feel good about everything, as long as I can keep my line. From Khalat I have learned to be more patient with myself. With the horses of Tennessee, if a board didn't convince me I would take more time, whereas before I was always in a hurry. This time I took more care for every single page. Before I had no idea of ​​the timing, with the second job I was more aware of my speed.



The horses of Tennessee In the light of what has been said so far, The horses of Tennessee is therefore the result of a magnificent collaboration and the relationship of two young women united by a special working bond, as well as that gives a beautiful friendship. Could Pex-Duino be a duo destined to return?

We haven't officially talked about it, but we'd like to. Let's see how this project goes, we want to live this book and have our experience. We really enjoyed collaborating, we know how we work and we know our sensitivity.

Giulia manages to give a concrete image to Giada's thoughts, one is able to transform the mind of the other into words. It is therefore with the hope of a future return that the mothers of The Horses of Tennessee want to leave us.

Buy the Horses of Tennessee on Amazon on Amazon