Olga Volodina

Interview with Olga Volodina for ITSLIQUID GROUP

Interview: Olga Volodina Luca Curci talks with Olga Volodina during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2019 at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space.

Olga Volodina is a Russian-born photo artist currently residing in Bangkok. Back in the day she started her professional career as a fashion art photographer in Moscow. Olga is the author of several social and art photo projects. Her work has been featured on TV, in print media and exhibited in art galleries. Her photography projects are always very personal and sincere and intend to evoke an emotional connection within the viewer. For Olga Volodina photography is an exploration of how the camera translates her feelings, thoughts and attitudes. A human is always the main source of inspiration for Olga. Her controversial inner world comes to life conveying a message within a single frame, leading to strong compositions and thoughtful lighting decisions.

Luca Curci – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most? Olga Volodina – I had a lot of hobbies in childhood, but I just needed to find one that would give me the opportunity to express my thoughts. I always have a “special” opinion and I can’t hide it. Therefore, photography for me has become a kind of dialogue with society. In it, I found an opportunity to express my love for symbols and metaphors, to struggle with endless reflection, excessive emotionality and imbalance, complexes and my personal flaws. This is not only a profession but also a kind of therapy.

LC – What are you currently working on? OV – At the moment, I am interested in everything related to the history of women’s rights and freedoms. The place of women in the modern world. How the feminist movement changed the woman’s life in the world and why many women forgot about it so quickly. A lot of people don’t even know about this fact. I also concerned about domestic violence, especially in Russia, where it was partially decriminalized last year. All of these topics I really care about all the things mentioned above and they will be reflected in my future project

LC – Where do you find your inspiration? OV – Life inspires me. The main focus of my work is always on a human. The images that I create are often my response to events in the world or in my personal life. It is spontaneous, but I record the flow of thoughts and associations that occurs in my head. Thoughts later take shape and convert to images when emotions recede into the background. I always clearly imagine the picture in my head before I start working on it. There are almost no improvisations on my set, everything is thought of in advance.

LC – Which art themes do you pursue? What is your preferred subject, if there is any? OV – In different periods of my life, I did completely different projects. Over time, I changed, my views and taste changed, and some themes that used to seem interesting were not relevant to me today. This is a natural process. The theme of a personal transformation under the influence of information and propaganda, which was raised in “Metamorphoses”, is now very important for me. This is what happens around us every day. As an artist, I am curious, but at the same time scared to watch it unfold, because often such metamorphoses happen to our friends or relatives. The mass media manipulate such concepts as love, beauty, and faith, giving the illusion of choice and freedom. It was interesting to me to visually display how I see all this. As for the ways of visual expression, this is my subjective personal interpretation.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays? OV – It’s not easy to be a full-time working artist now and, I think It never was. You have to work hard and sometimes you are full of doubts and often you have to go through very frustrating experiences. It requires a lot of self-discipline too. There is a boring and tedious side to being a full-time creator and you spend a good chunk of time not really creating but rather keeping up with social media, marketing, website building, pushing your skills, taxes, applying for events etc. It’s not easy to make your living out of it because you don’t have any guaranteed monthly income. Depending on the medium you are working with sometimes it’s very hard to even cover your expenses for buying supplies, professional printing, and framing. Being an artist often is a sacrifice.

LC – What do you think about the concept of this festival? In which way did it inspire you? OV – It goes along with my interests and exploring the relationship between man, society and contemporary cities, the lifestyles and the ways of being that run on a parallel level of our ordinary life sounds exciting and challenging. It inspired me to dig deeper into the themes I have been already working on for a while.

LC – In which way the artwork presented in our exhibition is connected with the festival’s theme? OV – My project Metamorphosis use symbolism to represent: fragile human consciousness influenced by mass media, the hypocrisy of the modern society and an average human, who is forced by the system to spend a precious lifetime either on basic survival needs or excessive consumption. Black and white colors are used to emphasize the edge between good and evil, that humanity is balancing on. Bodies in bandages symbolize sick mankind, weakened by prejudices and fears and vulnerable to manipulations. Information is one of the most dangerous weapons today. Like a cosmetic surgeon can change the physical appearance of a person, those who control mass media can change the perception of how reality appears to us and create the illusion of freedom and choice.

LC – What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform? OV – I think it is a great platform that brings together artists from different countries. I am very happy with the organization. ITSLIQUID GROUP has a good team. They are polite, responsible people who understand the needs and problems of artists, always ready to help and support.

LC – What are your suggestions about our services? Is there something more we can provide to artists? OV – Don’t really have any suggestions. It all seems good to me.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists? OV – I think it is a great opportunity for creative people to find their audience and customers. I wish you development and success! Thank you!

Issue 70 - April 2021

Can you tell us a little about you? 

I was born in Uzbekistan. Mom is a pianist, dad is an engineer. I have a younger sister who lives in Moscow now. My daughter is 12 years old and she is a young artist - she loves drawing and digital painting. When I was a child our family moved to Russia. I studied journalism in Moscow and worked as a model at the same time. My daughter was born in 2008, and I moved to Thailand, where I lived for almost ten years, and started working on my photo art projects Now I live and work in Bulgaria. Last year was very difficult for me, as it was for many other people, especially from a creative background. My new project "Ultraviolent." is in the making. It is dedicated to women's rights and the problem of domestic violence in families. Because of COVID and quarantine, I have to postpone the photo shootings but hope we can start soon. Everyone who takes the problem of domestic violence seriously can participate in the project. More details can be found here https://gogetfunding.com/ultraviolent/ 

How and when did you get into photography? 

As a child, I never dreamed of becoming a photographer. I was a curious kid interested in many things. I think it was that curiosity and adventurousness that made me an artist in the future. Although when I was a little girl, my father gave me his old film camera, so I took photos of literally everything I saw. I remember that I just really liked the shutter and the film rewind sounds. I still like it. It puts me in a somewhat meditative mood. It was by working with professional photographers that I became seriously interested in photography. I started with portraits of friends on a very basic amateur camera, then several years later, in 2006, I got my own studio and professional equipment while continuing with fashion shoots and nude photography. After I moved to Thailand I started to do more personal and conceptual art projects, that eventually culminated in a series of exhibitions in different Bangkok Galleries.

What does photography mean to you? 

Photography, for me, has become a kind of dialogue with society. By doing it, I found an opportunity to express my love for symbols and metaphors, struggle with endless self-reflection, excessive emotionality, complexes, and my personal flaws. This is not only a profession but also a kind of therapy. I am always inspired by society and the relationship between people, mostly in its negative aspect. My photo works are means of translating my feelings and sending my message to people. 

Please briefly describe your photography style for our readers. 

I would call it a conceptual mixed media art with a pinch of surrealism. 

Where you get inspiration? 

Life itself motivates and inspires me. The main focus of my work is always on a human. Images that I create are often my responses to the world's events or personal life events. It is spontaneous, but I record the flow of thoughts and associations that occurs in my head to transform them into artworks afterward. 

Do you think in advance what you want in the picture? 

Yes, I do. I always have to see a clear image in my head before I start to work on it, so there is not much left for improvisation during the shooting. You have to be organized and fast especially when you work in a rented studio with an hourly fee. 

Studio, on location, or both? 

I'm a "control freak" so In most cases I prefer a studio where I can manage the light. 

Would you consider yourself a hobbyist or a paid professional? 

I make my living doing photography, my works were exhibited in the established art galleries and sold to private collections, so, I believe, I'm a professional. 

What has been your most memorable session and why? 

I think one of the most memorable experiences was working with transgender people for my project M2F (Male To Female). None of them had a professional modeling background and the idea was to make a classical black and white nude shooting that will expose their beauty and make the viewers see it. It had to overcome the initial embarrassment and learn to trust. 

Nikon or Canon? 

Favorite lens? I still use my good old Canon Mark II camera since the year 2007. My favorite lens is Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM. It has a perfect-for-portrait-photography combination of focal length, ultra-wide aperture, and image stabilization. 

What is one piece of advice you would like to offer a new photographer looking to start their own business? 

I'm not that good at business, but I can give a piece of advice to photographers who will follow the path of art. I believe the most important thing is to be sincere, to express your thoughts and feelings. Use your personal experiences for inspiration: complexes, traumas, suffering, sad and happy moments of life. Talk about what worries you personally. Also, be versatile in your interests and communicate with people. This will make it possible to look at problems from different angles, and implement your ideas more accurately and creatively. The best ideas come from spheres of life adjacent to visual art: music, literature, science, etc. 

What do you think of our new magazine? 

I think this is a pretty interesting magazine about fashion, modeling, photography and make-up art. In addition, it is a free platform for creative people who can find their audience there. I am happy that my work attracted your attention and I wish you success.