Artwork description:

The work is a part of my Paper Cuts series.

Every story is made up. All the stories that we hear about the world, the way things work in it and what our place in it is have been made up for us by our parents, school, society. However, when we realize that everything has been made up, now it’s our turn to tell ourselves a new story. And this story can be anything we ever wanted it to be. It won’t be easy. But it’s possible to forget all the stories that were bringing us down and create our own, the one that will empower us - from scratch. But to do that, we need to cut the old stories first.

About my prints

You’re about to take one of my works and give it a new home. And this is what I want to share with you.

My art is not for everyone. It won’t conquer the masses. But it speaks to people who value emotional connection, like to think and want to see other realities and perspectives behind the mundane things.

My works reflect my journey from an artistically curious little girl, who was fascinated by everything unusual but had troubles fitting in, to a woman who found a way to express herself and to fully embrace who she is. My art allowed me to understand that there’s nothing impossible in life and that we have the power to create our own reality: do what we love, surround ourselves with the right people and feel the things we want to feel. Now I want to pass this discovery on to you so that you always know that anything is possible.

What my art is about?

I explore the topics of emotions, relationships, self-discovery and redefining oneself. Each photograph that you see here will take you on a journey into a character’s soul and at the same time, probably, will make you think of the events and things in your life that impacted you the most and maybe turned out to be life-changing.

What kind of feeling does it bring to your home?

Peace and tranquility. Strength and confidence. A grain of melancholy. With a bit of a whim, mystery, and fantasy. It will always be a gentle and quiet reminder that nothing is what it seems and you should always go deeper to perceive the true meaning.

How I work

I choose muted tones, strictly organized compositions, clean minimalistic spaces and lots of symbolism to convey my ideas. Each visual story here has a definite plot but is always to interpretation.

My Process

Each photo takes from 1 week to several months of planning and preparations: thinking through the story and the plot, planning the color scheme, sketching, scouting for locations, creating the props, choosing the suitable wardrobe, looking for the right makeup and hairstyle looks and then blending it all together. In most cases, a whole team is involved in the shooting process. I never use stock imagery to create my art, I shoot all the details myself right there on location. After the shooting is done, post-processing of a single image takes on average 5-7 hours in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Materials used:

Hahnemühle Bamboo fine art paper