Ale+Ale

Ale+Ale were found in an abandoned basket in the Martesana channel, entangled between a duck’s nest and a tire. They spent their childhood under the protection of a family of herons. When they were very young they learned to draw with bird quills, which they used to sketch crows and storks.

That is where their passion for illustration originated, which has led them to work with the main Italian magazine and book publishers. They have both developed deep roots in the city of Milan, and owe their art studies and knowledge of the world of work to it.

To conceptualise this book, they have walked around the city taking numerous photos, scribbling notes, suffering threats from security guards, revisiting the same spots, avoiding others, listening to statues, missing trains and, well, getting lost in the fog.

They have combined drawings, photographs, and cuttings to capture the soul of Milan, as elusive and silent as an owl in the night.

After nesting in various areas of Milan, and with the aim to obtain an external and objective perspective of the city, they have recently taken flight following a flock of migratory birds that were headed North.