Alfredo Meschi Vegan 'Artivist'

A handsome Italian with striking sky blue eyes, Alfredo Meschi wouldn't look out of place on the catwalk modelling an Armani suit. But he prefers to be photographed in nothing but his skin – his ‘mourning skin’ as he calls it. He’s a vegan activist and his body is adorned with no less than 40,000 tattooed X's, a passionate acknowledgement and moving commemoration of all the animals killed for food by humankind. Alfredo's ink is a powerful statement of his personal philosophy and it's his chosen medium for his 'Artivism'. He toured Italy this summer (along with his partner Ilaria and their son Elijah) offering experiential workshops, a 'participatory' photographic exhibition and theatrical performances, and he's received a huge amount of attention on social media. We wanted to find out more...

Alfredo, who are you? I am 48 years old, and I am from Livorno in Tuscany. I am a writer, an artist, an actor and a theatre teacher, but most of all I am an 'Artivist' – someone who uses their artistic talents to oppose injustice and oppression (by 'any medium necessary', as American author and scholar M K Asante said). All over the planet, Artivists are engaged in the social justice and environmental movements, and they're fighting for animal rights too. I express my art through my body, and my activism through the bodily involvement and emotional communication of my performances. Each time someone stops to look at me, I achieve something. Each time my 40,000 X’s are seen and shared on social media, I achieve something. Whether it's just once, or a hundred times, or a thousand times, or a hundred thousand times... Every time I start a conversation about veganism or animal rights, I achieve something. Augusto Boal (who taught me so much about the theatre) spoke of spectators becoming 'spect-actors'. That is my aim.