10 Questions with Yulia Artemyeva

THE ORIGINAL ISSUE10 Art Magazine | Featured Artist

Yulia Artemyeva is a photo-artist from Russia, a jury member at international contests, the author of study programs in photography.  Yulia took part in more than 200 photo exhibitions in 38 countries worldwide and won more than 60 international photography awards.
In 2015 she was awarded the EFIAP title. Since 2017 Yulia's photo projects have been exhibited at photo festivals in Russia, Italy, France, Romania, the UK, the USA. In the summer of 2021, the project "Ballerina and flowers" was exhibited in a solo show in France, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. 
Yulia has been a jury member of 9 FIAP and PSA photo salons since 2015 and in 4 photo contests under the Federation Levantina de Fotografia, Spain. Yulia's photo projects were published in international magazines, such as Culturainquieta, Metro News, MyModernmet, Mondorama, Imcreator, Impressio, Kulturologia, Bored Panda, Russia Beyond, All City Canvas, Big Picture, C41magazine, F-stopmagazine, Dodho, Unknown gallery, Photoblog HK, Float, Internazionale Italy, Le Soleil, Art Mag, to name a few.

yulia-artemyeva.com | @yulia_artemyeva

ARTIST STATEMENT

Yulia creates symbolic series of works that often balance between portrait and still life. The main theme of Yulia's art is death and memories people have of the already gone phenomena. The objects of her interest are always the elements of the semantic code, scattered around us, linking us to something bigger. 

Although Yulia works with emotionally complicated themes for most people, her art is optimistic. To her, death does not mean the end of existence. When physically gone, a phenomenon leaves behind a semantic field that comforts the people interested in it. By staying whole and functioning in a perfect space, it remains accessible through tangible objects reminding anyone seeking advice of its existence. 

The border between life and death in her photo projects is as thin as the surface of a light mirror. The world of Yulia's art is saturated with refined beauty and utter tenderness to the world as the object of art. Her photography leaves no place for weighty pessimism and depression. "There is no death", — her art says. — "There are memories one ought to be in  touch with."

Ballerina and Flowers | PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A flower symbolizes perfect beauty, purity, youth, fragile brevity, Romantic traditions, and mimesis. Womanhood represents itself in a moment, a swift gesture. What lasts longer — a flower’s angle or the gesture of a ballerina? The culture of humanity is the random reproduction of meaningful events. Nature creates an impulse and inspiration, an ideal, though it has to be held fixed within the culture.

Comparing women to flowers is one of the traditional motives in European as well as Asian culture. In Yulia Artemyeva’s photo project, this likeness is made absolute with the help of visual mimesis, almost identical imitation of a flower’s shape through a gesture. Choosing a ballerina to be the centerpiece of this shooting is metaphysical: womanhood as an ideal can be captured only by imagination or in its artistic representation. At the same time, the conceptual field of womanhood is huge and complicated. The image of a dancer may be interpreted as a manifestation of a better world, close to a fairy or a genius, or it can be eroticized and lowered. However, a consistent iconic application of both traditional images brings photography closer to language, a hieroglyphic script where each consecutive symbol clarifies the previous one. In the same way, each pair of photos could be seen as an integrated message, where the associations for the flower in this visual micro-imagery cut off or clarify part of the meanings which emerge in the viewer’s perception in connection with each image of a ballerina: her posture, gestures, the tones of the photo, etc.

Womanhood breaks through from the ideal world into the real world through a gesture, a word, or a sign. And if a camera captures a gesture of the priestess-artist almost passively, the choice of angle for capturing the beauty of nature so that it becomes an artifact requires a lot of heuristic effort on the part of the photo artist. A ballerina’s gesture, so swift in reality, becomes as long-lasting as a flower’s angle, which could have been left unnoticed without the attention of a photo camera.

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our public. Who are you, and how would you describe yourself as a person and an artist?

My name is Yulia Artemyeva. I'm a photo-artist from Russia, a jury member at international contests, the author of study programs in photography. I create symbolic series of works that often balance portrait and still life. The main theme of my art is death and memories people have of the phenomena that are already gone. The object of my interest is always the elements of semantic code, scattered around us, linking us to something bigger.

What is your artistic background? And when did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?

Since childhood, I dreamed of being an artist, but I got a main higher education in economics. And 12 years ago, my pregnancy brought me closer to my dream. I graduated from the School of International Cooperation with the specialty «Photo artist» and, all these years, I have been in constant study - work on myself. Thanks to my first education, I have a clear and structured activity, not creative chaos, although, of course, all works are created from the heart. I am constantly consulting with curators, developing, reading, and watching new projects, photography is a lightning-fast-changing art, and its trends need to be monitored.

You have a long curriculum with many different experiences. What was your favorite experience as an artist so far? 

I like to develop myself in several areas of the same activity. It inspires me to new achievements, and in this situation, there is no place for emotional burnout. I teach photography and participate in the jury of photo contests, but as an author, I am always searching for topics, creating photo projects and their promotion.

In your work, you reference memories as your primary source of inspiration. What other themes can be found in your work? And what does your art aim to say to the viewers?

Although I work with emotionally complicated themes for most people, my art is optimistic. To me, death does not mean the end of existence. Being physically gone, a phenomenon leaves behind a semantic field that serves as a comfort to the people interested in it. By staying whole and functioning in a perfect space, it remains accessible through tangible objects reminding anyone seeking the advice of its existence.

The border between life and death in my photo projects is as thin as the surface of a light mirror. The world of my art is saturated with refined beauty and utter tenderness to the world as the object of art. My photography leaves no place for weighty pessimism and depression. "There is no death", — my art says. — "There are memories one ought to be in touch with."

How do you create your works? Where do you find inspiration, and what is your creative process like? 

Ordinary things inspire me but from a different angle. Walking through the city's familiar streets, exhibitions, various art, books - I walk, watch, read, absorb. And then, there is a synergy of the concept and the visual component. Ideas don't come out of anywhere; it's a combination of all the information coming to us through all the senses.

In your project "Ballerina and Flowers," you compare the caducity of a flower with the transitory nature of a ballerina's movement. How did you come up with this idea? 

What aftertaste remains after the dance? It is transience, a moment that cannot be repeated exactly. The life of a flower is also fleeting. A life cycle, a transformation, is a process when a variable becomes constant. In my opinion, it is important not to speak directly to the viewers but to add metaphors to the visual language.

The project uses only black and white photography. Is there a specific reason behind your choice? And what does black and white photography represent for you?

Color has a powerful effect on the viewers, on his perception. Each color evokes certain individual associations. In order to abstract as much as possible from the emotions caused by color, I use only form and metaphor in this project.

As a skilled photographer, do you prefer working with digital or analog photography? And what do you think of recent innovations, like NFTs or digital art? 

We live in an era of incredible speeds, so the speed of getting ready-made pictures is important to me. I take pictures with a medium-format digital camera and have a great attitude to digital processing. I think it expands the range of possibilities for presenting your art. How do I feel about NFT? Watching from the sidelines, I am in the middle between ardent fans and obvious opponents.

Over the past two years, we have witnessed major changes in the art world. Do you miss the art world as it was before the pandemic, or do you see more opportunity now?

I miss the offline world a bit, but formats are changing, and this transformation corresponds to the mood in society. Technology has always given impetus to the development of art, and now we are witnessing changes, and we can contribute to this process.

And lastly, what are you working on right now? Anything exciting you would like to tell our readers?

Now I'm working on a conceptual project with fragile materials again. I am involved in the theme of color, its nature, and its influence. Therefore, you will see my new projects in color with a deep concept. And I wish all readers to get acquainted with different topics, to try accepting different art and see the beauty in the ordinary! Become a tourist in your city, get acquainted with the surrounding space in a new context, and the whole world will become art for you!