The Italian comic book artist Elena Ominetti has a gift for turning the comic-book page into a theatre of desire. She combines elegant linework, expressive characters and sensual colour with an instinctive understanding of erotic storytelling. Her collaboration with French publisher Tabou Éditions produced a series of increasingly daring works, including Sans un mot…, Les mots pour le dire, ONI, Plaisirs intimes and Seconde Chance. Ominetti understands that erotic comics need not shout: a gesture, a glance, a curve, or a charged silence can make an entire page burn.
This distinctive approach was one of the reasons why writer Mitchell Pluto decided to interview her in greater depth for Shunga Gallery.
Shunga Gallery: Do you remember when you first discovered you were an artist?
Elena Ominetti: I didn’t exactly “discover” that I was an artist; I’ve simply loved drawing since I was a child. I drew constantly and everywhere—so much so that my teachers would scold me because I’d even draw in my math and Italian textbooks. I created my first comic book in elementary school: stapled sheets of paper telling the adventures of a sort of female Tarzan. Needless to say, the teacher confiscated it.
Fig 1. Love Post Card. Elena Ominetti
SG: Which comic book artists have been your greatest inspiration?
Elena Ominetti: A huge number of them. Each one inspired me to add or remove something from my style—a style that is, in any case, constantly evolving. Among the key influences, I can undoubtedly mention Jordi Bernet and Juan Zanotto.
Fig 2. Urgenze. Elena Ominetti
SG: Who is your favorite among figurative artists?
Elena Ominetti: Luis Royo tops the list. I love the almost ethereal atmospheres he creates and the intriguing, silent gazes of his characters.
SG: What sparked your interest in erotic themes?
Elena Ominetti: The beauty of the human body and the feeling of excitement I experienced when seeing something erotic—the kind of feeling and emotion I seek to capture in my own work and hope to convey to others.
Fig 3. Devil at your door. Elena Ominetti
SG: Is there a particular erotic book or film that left a lasting impression on you?
Elena Ominetti: As for books, “The Ages of Lulu” by Almudena Grandes, and the novels of Eimi Yamada (a Japanese author I wrote my thesis on), such as “Bedtime Eyes”. But more than anything, I was struck by erotic scenes within novels that weren't strictly erotic—such as a scene in Kenzaburo Oe’s novel “A Personal Matter”, or the famous sex scene between Casca and Guts in Kentaro Miura’s manga “Berserk”. And many others.
SG: Which project or collaboration has given you the most satisfaction?
Elena Ominetti: There are two. The first is definitely my initial project with the publisher Tabou Editions, “Sans un mot”. It was my first experience with a non-Italian publisher, as well as my first time working as an erotic comic artist. The second was “Don't Open – Sex Inside” with the self-publishing collective "Cappuccino Express." It’s an erotic anthology featuring over twenty short stories by various authors. For that project, I served as art director and also contributed a short, four-page story titled “Disperato Erotico” ("Desperate Erotic"), in which I depict the wet (yet frustrated) dreams of a young woman.
Fig 4. elisir d'amor. , Elena Ominetti
SG: Do you work with models?
Elena Ominetti: No, unfortunately not. Although I would really love to.
SG: How do you keep your work interesting and fresh?
Elena Ominetti: I “hope” I keep it interesting and fresh by always trying to look inward—asking myself, "What do I want to say? What do I want to communicate? What do I want to portray?"—while simultaneously trying to adapt as much as possible to tastes and trends (without ever losing sight of myself), which is something I have to do if I want to make a living from this work.
Fig 5. Because the Night. Elena Ominetti
SG: What steps do you follow to reach a state of flow?
Elena Ominetti: I don’t have a "ritual," nor do I have specific steps to focus. If I’m working on a comic book project with a publisher—where I have to stick to a schedule and meet deadlines—the process is very mechanical. Even then, though, I have to keep in mind the reason that drove me to create the project in the first place—that is, what I want to convey to the readers. Of course, it’s important for me to be in a calm, serene state of mind; otherwise, I find it hard to work. When it comes to more personal work, on the other hand, I let myself be guided by my feelings, though without ever losing sight of the final composition.
Fig 6. une petite mort. Elena Ominetti
SG: Focusing on your bookshelf: if you could keep only three books, which would you choose as the best, and why?
Elena Ominetti: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Le Guin, and the poetry of Paul Verlaine. I know, they aren’t erotic works, but they are the three books that most shaped my personal growth. It was a real struggle to list just three, because there are so many others that have been—and still are—incredibly important to me. “The Left Hand of Darkness” tells the story of a planet where the inhabitants have no sex—or rather, they can be either, depending on the phase of the moon, let’s say. I don’t want to give too much away. So, the issue of "gender" doesn't arise on this planet because gender doesn't exist; they are simply people. They aren't judged or influenced by being men or women, because they are neither and both at the same time. Consequently, the inhabitants of this planet all stand on equal footing. I wonder why there isn't a film about this yet. Or perhaps there is a reason, and it’s all too obvious.
Fig.7 Arras and Lyriel, 2019, Elena Ominetti
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Elena Ominetti is active on Instagram
Click HERE for a publication about the pain and satisfaction in Luis Royo’s Prohibited series or HERE for dripping monster sex in Luis Royo’s fantasy world
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