10 Questions with Alina Holovatiuk

Alina Holovatiuk is an up-and-coming Ukrainian architect, designer, and CGI/2D artist. She is a founder of the "InTempo" app & case startup against panic attacks and the international social experiment "Architecture & Happiness" engaging 5000 people around the globe, aiming to find out the correlation between architecture and well-being. She graduated from the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture with Architecture as a major and now pursuing her career as an architect. Alina is deeply captivated by the challenges that could potentially affect thousands and millions.

She is a winner/finalist of 23 international and national architecture/design contests and always finds time and guts to participate in other competitions. Her interests include eco-tech, biotech and parametric architecture, painting, graphite drawing, cinematography, and manhwa.

behance.net/alina_holovatiuk | @deppyjo

ARTIST STATEMENT

As an artist, she strives to ensure that her work leaves a deep and strong emotional response in her viewers. Since an abstract work could be translated in various ways, her work is closer to realism to pass people a concrete and profound message. The most valuable thing in the work, in her opinion, is contrast, aggressive strokes or hatches, and the presence of a clinging detail. Portraits are her favorite and most successful genre. The clinging feature is something that makes the viewer stop, gives him goosebumps, and encourages him to share the work with everyone he knows. Another important feature, whether it's a painting or photography, is wholeness. The key is hidden in a dominant volume or supreme tone, or the main subject/protagonist of the project.

Visiting galleries or just browsing the site, she is often in a hurry and merely ignores the work that does not grab attention for 1 second. That's why she is guided by this rule - to impress at a glance.

In design and architectural projects, she is guided by the fact that the project solves an important problem in society, is comfortable, convenient, and understandable for people, and has an expressive feature. Projects that are at the intersection of various disciplines, sciences, and technologies, in her opinion, are the most fascinating and allow her to go much further than it was possible at the beginning.

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and how did you start experimenting with art?

My name is Alina Holovatiuk, and I am a creative person for whom the medium through which I convey a message to the world is irrelevant. I have a master's degree in architecture from the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, but in addition to architecture itself, I do drawing, visualization, photography, and sociological research, and I am developing my startup for panic attack prevention. Initially, I wanted to be an artist without any additions or impurities, so I started drawing very early - at about 4 years old. Further, during preparation and during the process of studying to be an architect, drawing receded into the background, but with the beginning of the Ukrainian-Russian war, it became paramount again.

Faces of the War - Unknown Spring, Charcoal and bronze leaf, 50x70 cm, 2022 © Alina Holovatiuk

Your background is in architecture. What inspired you to pursue a career as an artist?

The architectural background allows you to express yourself in a large number of specialties and fields. But architecture will always be the most difficult, time-consuming, and interesting of them all, so giving up Architecture is an attempt to make life easier for yourself. But at the moment, when there's a war in the country, really worthy architecture is even slower to materialize than it commonly would be.
I'm not abandoning architecture; the thing is that at the moment, drawing and art, in general, is the fastest way to tell people from all over the world about the war in Ukraine. It's bizarre, but the news that has been talking about the situation in my country for half a year may not be enough to reach people who don't have rockets flying over their heads. Art can get into a person's heart and mind, but it also requires much less time to put into action, which is why I have temporarily switched to it. The reason why there are so many exhibitions organized by Ukrainian artists or with Ukrainian works is that they have a profound message for people who don't follow the news or who don't like to look at the realities of war - it's a separate cultural front.

And how would you define yourself as an artist?

As an artist, I strive to convey a vivid message and emotion through my work. It's very difficult to know what the viewer will like as a result - usually, you think people will be impressed by one thing, but they end up being touched by something else. But since my strongest technique is graphics, I position myself as a graphic artist. I am also best at portraits of people because the result is a portrait graphic artist.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your artistic routine when working?

Usually, when the process of creating an artwork begins, it is demanding to sit down and start. You go around and around, delaying the moment, but when you finally sit down and get into it - the process becomes easygoing. Usually, I can't paint for very long, only for 2-3 hours, then a break, or continuing the next day. It is crucial to understand the exact moment when you start to spoil the work and leave it for a while to look at it with fresh eyes and add missing accents. I usually prefer to paint in private, including energetic music or movie soundtracks. I work mostly in the mornings to keep an unclouded view of my painting.

Solo, SonyZV-1, 26.47x39.71 cm, 2022 © Alina Holovatiuk

What are the similarities and differences between your work as an artist and that as an architect?

There is not much in common between an artist and an architect. Understanding composition, combinations of volumes and colors, artistic taste, and imagination are required for artists and architects. But apart from these, every single thing is different - the architect communicates more with people and has a known "only 15% freedom" in what he does. An architect ought to know a lot of staff (construction standards, norms, properties of materials, various technologies, etc.), be fluent in architecture-related computer programs, be curious and study all the time. The level of responsibility of the architect cannot be compared with that of an artist or a designer. If an artist is responsible for the result of his work, for what it will be, its quality, the result of the implemented architecture depends on a range of specialists. Plus, the architectural practice requires more time, more brain power, and even the attitude to deadlines is very different between an artist and an architect)

Tell us more about your InTempo project. What were your sources of inspiration and what is the concept behind this project?

The proposed product prevents the problem of psychological nature - panic attacks and anxiety disorders. If we pull up the statistics around the world, every third person on earth has experienced a panic attack at least once in his or her life. Panic disorder is diagnosed in 6 million adults yearly and is twice as common in women as in men. However, less than 30 % of panic attack sufferers receive treatment. Many young people hide this problem and are never treated. Antidepressants and tranquilizers have side effects. High prices for visiting psychologists and the lack of a community on mental health issues lead to a situation where young people are not even aware of the problem.
Hence, the InTempo app and a particular case were designed as a preventive measure against panic attacks and as a general relaxation treatment for everyone.

Workflow: a person listens to his/her favorite music and tries to repeat its rhythm, beating it on a special case or the phone screen. Playfully, attention is shifted from fear, feelings of anxiety, and negativity to calming. This phygital game involves several senses simultaneously - a combination of auditory, tactile, and visual sensations. Each design decision for both the app and the case was based on consultations with musicians, psychologists, and psychotherapists (CBT and EMDR techniques), as well as existing research on the effect of music and rhythm on human physiology. According to them, the nervous system and muscles can assimilate the rhythm. Research has found that music that you love (which creates a pleasant mood) can synchronize with your brain waves and influence their frequency. Breathing and heartbeat change depending on the tempo and key of the piece of music. Under the influence of music, muscle tone and motor activity can also change. In general, every cell of the body resonates with music, that you like.
The initial idea of InTempo implies the creation of a community within the app and educational cooperation with the therapists. It is also planned to allow customers to create their own rhythmic music, track their psychological state through the app and then analyze the results.
Now the project is at the stage where there is a finished prototype of the case and a beta version of the application, which I am turning into a startup.
My own problem inspired the project with panic attacks and the fact that it was music that helped me cope with attacks.

What's one essential element in your art?

I would say it's the dominant color or volume and the stark contrast between the two. You walk into a showroom, and that painting immediately catches your attention. You have no possibility or desire to be distracted by something else. There must also be a story in any project. Good stories and storytellers rule the world, and a good legend told by a picture, the story it conveys, will stay in the memory of a visitor longer than a simple landscape or something repainted from reality. Or, a cardinal element of artistic work can be aggressive, unusual strokes, deep, sweeping, or, vice versa, petite. But of all of the above, in my humble opinion, a powerful subject matter depicted in a painting plays a critical role (perhaps even a personal story of the artist himself). It can later be retold to a friend, posted, or described somewhere and it will be spread further.

What messages would you like to convey with your work?

From a very young age, I would like to influence a large number of people. But the way or means of influencing remained undefined. Art can touch and affect the lives of thousands of people if the message is clear enough. But if the message is accessible to a few people or presented in a too complicated way, art does not reach its goal, or it does, but it is too late. Now, the concrete message that I want to convey through art in this particular period is the worthy perception of the Ukrainian people as a separate and self-sufficient nation. I would not want Ukrainians to be pitied because of the war. My goal as an artist is for Ukrainians to be respected. That people understand their distinctive qualities, their multifaceted history, the strength of their spirit, the diligence and talent of their people, and their rich and beautiful country, which will never obey and defeat anyone. The medium or means of conveying this message still does not play a role.

Do you find that the shift to digital exhibitions and art fairs has helped you promote your work?

I don't think virtual exhibitions help much in getting a sincere feeling for a project. I can't feel anything for NFT, for example, or a sculpture exhibition in a virtual gallery. Because of the physical sensation of both the space and the artwork in it, the vibrant colors and volumes bring real emotions that virtual space simply erases. But on the other hand, digital makes it easier to find out about the artist, to find him on all the social networks, and to communicate with him directly. The virtual site can also be visited by a wide variety of people from all over the world who would have no way of coming in person. In 2020, I recall that the largest museums in the world opened their virtual exhibitions and it was very inspiring during the lockdowns, but still in no way could replace the physical experience of the space. So my opinion on virtual exhibitions is twofold.

Finally, any projects or exhibitions you are looking forward to for this year?

By the end of this year, I plan to finish the necessary number of works to organize an exhibition dedicated to the war in Ukraine. This is the main reason why I temporarily switched to drawing - it is the fastest way to convey a dominant message at a time when it is most relevant to my country. I was surprised to find out that in some countries, contrary to the daily news reports and facts about the war in Ukraine, people do not believe that this is happening in the 21st century, while they are just enjoying a peaceful life elsewhere in the world. That is why the goal of the exhibition I am planning is to show works in European countries and countries across the ocean. To show the face of the Ukrainian people and important historical events in an artistic way that is not traumatic but impresses the viewer. At this point, with the exhibition not fully assembled, I have a list of potential locations for exposition and competitions and open calls to go to for this purpose. Either way, completely open to suggestions!

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