We sat down with artist Tanya Shatseva to ask her about her earliest artistic memories, her inspiration behind her work as well as the inspiration behind her release with us, "Phantom Rain," plus much more:
Hello Tanya, could you tell us a bit about where you were born and where you live now?
Hi! I was born in simulation and, so to say, still live here. Currently living in winter, Saint Petersburg, Russia, if you meant the location.
What are your earliest artistic memories? Have you always wanted to pursue art?
Definitely. I was that way from the very beginning, as well as others I think. I just kept this setting. Once when I was 4, I led the whole neighborhood of children to dig up a dinosaur’s egg, a true art performance. As a child I drew a lot of roosters for some reason (there were none of them at my place). Later I started drawing a lot of humans and humanoids in different imaginary scenes. Recently I was so surprised to see one of them materialize in the latest Lars Von Trier movie.
Did you attend art school or are you self taught?
I attended an art school for several days but I felt misunderstood and left. They told me that I should look up to those who were copying objects using the right methods and colors and I almost exploded. I was always full of whimsical concepts and passion to the absurd.
What are your current inspirations for your subject matter?
It is a complicated system, I absorb a huge amount of information that I find interesting – literature, science, myths, culture, personalities etc., it dissolves inside me, breaks down into tiny particles, reacts and creates a hybrid. I love unexpected conjunctions that strangely are balanced and sound.
Could you tell us a bit about your release with us, "Phantom Rain?"
Well, as I said about inspiration - there's never a solid story in the plot, there are shatters of dreams that matched. Artificial crystal drops are frozen in the moment, sparkling in the light and making a silent jingle. But she is so deeply hypnotized by the illusion of a rainfall inside her head, she got soaked under this imaginary rain.
Do your paintings each exist in the same universe or are each of them existing in their own realm?
I love this one. On the one hand it depends on if I’m existing in the same realm daily or it only seems so and my whole memory is an illusion... On the other hand they all exist in my phaneron – the one and only, and on the third hand the borders are blurred.
Social Media has greatly influenced your career, do you have any thoughts on how it is changing the artistic landscape?
Social media is a symbiosis of the creators, the orchestra of memes, it is not a separate mysterious being – it is us plus technology. Technology in general is an important element of the modern artistic landscape. I think the world is getting faster and thinner, and its speed is much bigger in the head part than in the tail.
When you're not creating, what do you like to do?
I’m creating not only when I’m physically creating, so I’m kind of constantly creating. I also like to dance in my head while listening to music in public places and to suffer from love madness.
Tanya's limited edition print, "Phantom Rain," is currently available in our shop as regular and hand embellished editionz.
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