Artist statement

I work with themes of loneliness in a crowd, loss, and disguise—both physical and metaphorical. My practice is rooted in Soviet childhood, a longing for a home that no longer exists, and the question of how cultural memory shapes our identity. These experiences become the foundation of a visual language where the personal always intersects with the historical.
Found materials often serve as the core of my works: fur-covered photo albums, old clothing, wood. They seem to preserve traces of touch, time, and bodies. I explore the role of memory and cultural roots in shaping the self, and to what extent we are able to reconstruct our identity in times of change. The figures I create are immersed in dreams—they reject reality, hide behind masks, freeze or flee. This theme has been central to my performance work, where I examined intimacy and estrangement, and the influence of the past on the individual. Today, I continue this exploration through painting and collage, where bright colors and festive forms act as a counterpoint to anxiety, vulnerability, and longing.
I consider myself a humanist. Injustice and lack of freedom wound me deeply, and art is my way of saying: “we are all alive, and we all feel pain.”