A newly published collection of personal journals by the late photographer Davide Sorrenti provides an unprecedented look into the creative mind and restless spirit of an artist whose brief but influential career helped redefine fashion photography in the 1990s. "Davide Sorrenti Journals: Volume 01 1994-1995," edited by his mother, photographer Francesca Sorrenti, and published by Idea, presents the most intimate portrait yet of the young artist who died in 1997 at age 20.
The publication comes on the heels of renewed interest in Davide's work following the 2019 documentary "See Know Evil" by filmmaker Charlie Curran. The film gathered friends and family to share memories of the photographer who was widely credited with bringing a darker, more intimate sensibility to fashion imagery. His unique perspective was shaped by his upbringing in 1980s New York, where he moved from Naples as a child, giving him a keen understanding of street culture and an intensified relationship with mortality due to his rare blood disorder, thalassemia.
The journals themselves were never private documents, according to Francesca Sorrenti. "He had two very big, destroyed journals," she explains. "They weren't private. When friends came over, they were going through them. They were very based on his friendships." This collaborative spirit extended to his creative work, as friend and collaborator Havana Laffitte recalls: "I was just kind of messing around with the idea of being a stylist, and I saw his journal. I suggested [then] we do a project together."
The decision to publish the journals was influenced by the overwhelming response to the documentary and previous book releases. Francesca Sorrenti describes her surprise at the audience reactions: "We were so amazed by the following, and the amount of people that came [to screenings] was unbelievable. In New York, we did three showings, and at the first there was a massive storm that flooded New York – the theater was packed." She was particularly struck by the young demographic drawn to Davide's work: "At Dover Street Market [for the book launch] I was expecting a bunch of 40-year-olds to show up, and the majority were kids."
While excerpts from the journals have appeared in previous publications – "ArgueSKE 1994-1997" (2019), "Polaroids" (2020), and "My Beautyfull Lyfe" (2022) – this new volume represents the most personal release to date. The book showcases the visual language Davide applied to those in his orbit and the annotations he made about them. Volume 01 contains photo collages, contact sheets, photo booth strips, sketches, stickers, magazine pages, and scribbles, accompanied by texts from those who knew him.
Davide's artistic versatility extended beyond photography. "Davide was an artist – he could draw, paint. Of course, he was a graffiti writer," his mother notes. The journal-keeping practice was inspired by his older brother Mario Sorrenti, also a renowned photographer. "The journals were something that he saw his brother do – I guess Mario is the one that inspired him to start," Francesca explains. His sister Vanina is also a fashion photographer, making the Sorrenti family a creative dynasty in the field.
The journals reflect Davide's stream-of-consciousness approach to documenting his life and art. "It was just the way his brain worked. Whatever he did went into his diary along with his daily life," his mother recalls. "There was no rhyme or reason. I remember once seeing that he did stuff in the back of the book and not in the front." The pages naturally echo his interests, featuring everything from a magazine masthead with "Portrait of Mommy (Interview)" handwritten above it to early photographs of his friend Ryan Jackalone skateboarding in a business suit.
Francesca Sorrenti emphasizes the youthful energy captured in this first volume: "This was the beginning of his love for photography. In this book, everybody's very young, and then they get older in the next one. That's the highlight of this book, that there's a certain youth going on. They're kids." This temporal aspect adds poignancy to the collection, as readers witness the early stages of artistic relationships and creative collaborations that would define Davide's short but impactful career.
One particularly striking element appears near the journal's end: a horoscope for Cancer torn from Vogue magazine, relevant since Davide's birthday was July 9. The horoscope reads: "It's important to pay extra attention to health and well-being this month. A tired and cranky Cancer can be devastatingly self-sabotaging, so be sure to get your beauty sleep. Avoid situations or people who drain your emotions and energy. Taking care of yourself now will help your dreams come true." The passage reads almost like a prophetic warning, given Davide's health struggles and early death.
The inclusion of the horoscope also underscores the close-knit nature of the Sorrenti family, particularly their shared connection to water signs in astrology. "My whole house is water," Francesca enthuses. "Mario is a Scorpio, I'm a Scorpio. Vanina is a Pisces, my husband is a Pisces – We used to say the house of floating water." This detail adds another layer to understanding the family dynamics and spiritual connections that influenced Davide's worldview.
"Davide Sorrenti Journals: Volume 01 1994-1995" is now available through Idea Books, marking the beginning of what promises to be a comprehensive look at the photographer's personal archives. The publication serves not only as a tribute to a talented artist gone too soon but also as a historical document of 1990s creative culture and the intimate friendships that fueled one of fashion photography's most influential periods.
