SEXUALITY HUMANITY EQUALITY
Photographer: Anastasia Shik
1. What significant life experiences or events have influenced and shaped your artistic vision?
I was always seeing sexuality as a subject of my inner research. I could always explore myself through sexuality and I could always see people through their sexuality. I see it as big power, we all have and can use as free as we want. It is very personal and should never be judged. Even if we live in the modern world, we still face ridiculous judgments. But I don’t believe in them. I believe in Humanity and Equality. Can you see a human behind my photos? Can you see his personality or you are judgemental?
2. Collaboration often sparks fresh creativity. Can you share an example of a collaboration that led to an unexpected and exciting artistic outcome?
I always enjoy collaboration with Cristian Nanti. I really like their personality and how they see the world. And I also like how they see myself and give me all the freedom and trust I need to reach high quality results. One of my favourite collaboration was reproduction of Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”. I’m really proud of this work and glad that on the photos you could see the Stalker, you can see Christian and you can see myself. I think it’s a victory in any kind of collaborations when you can let everyone be themselves.
3. Walk us through a specific project that challenged your creative boundaries. How did you approach it, and what did you learn from the experience?
Last year I was shooting a project dedicated to my repressed memories. It includes a lot of photos of children. It was absolutely not that I was seeing myself, but I believed in the power those photos could leave on people as a reminder of kindness. I thought I will never shoot children again, but here I am. Preparing my next dedicated to my classmates from the Boarding school where I studied for some years. Overall, I like always explore different directions, but my main road is very clear.
4. In the ever-evolving art world, what do you believe sets your work apart and makes it unique or groundbreaking?
I think what makes my work unique is that you can always see myself there. The way I am. The way I see this world. How I communicate. That freedom people reach when they are with me. I believe what I’m shooting is not just fashion, it’s art. And I think it’s really important to speak about the things that may not be that comfortable for everyone.
5. As you reflect on your journey, are there any specific goals or milestones you've set for your artistic career in the coming years?
Lately, I realised that my biggest goal to keep doing what I’m doing. When I shoot, I really think only of the result I want to reach. So my goal is to produce as many beautiful and meaningful pieces of work as possible.
6. How did you discover Mob and what made you choose us? <3
I’ve noticed Mob through social media. Lots of my models were following the page and reposting photos. So I felt it was my place.
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I’ve always seen sexuality as BIG power. Power that can destroy and power that can give us a chance for a fresh better life. It can be abusive. It can be loving. We live in the era, when anyone can express oneself in different ways, but at the same time we all go through judgments. Sometimes we hide. While other can use US and OUR sexuality against us. And again, at the same time we are who we are. We all like different things and see the world with different perspective. And we all have sexuality. Even tho some of us, unfortunately, left with no option of embracing it. But we all live with sexuality.We should learn how to live with this. With my photos I would like to say to the world… no. Actually not to say, I want the world to stop and to think, maybe ask some questions and answer them in silence “What do you see here? What do you feel here? What are your thoughts? Are you judgmental?’
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Photographer: Anastasia Shik