Your name
Anna Poloneeva
Place of birth
Ivanovo, Russia
Place where you live now
Moscow, Russia
3 words to describe you
Empathy, sensitivity, flight
Why do you take pictures?
For me, this type of art is the most authentic and has close contact with visible reality, which conceals the presence of the divine. With the help of a camera, I can strive to touch the essence of everything, starting with myself. This is the closest way of interaction between objects. As a result of synthesis, a unique dialogue of inner worlds occurs.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I believe that inspiration does not exist and I believe in an internal flow, an impulse that we simply must follow. I have my own concept of the idea of an internal creative source. I believe that each person has such a source to which he must come. The moment you realize the creative gift in yourself, interaction begins. I follow the impulse and see what happens. I analyze what touches me and what does not and why. I collect a collection of works by other authors wherever I can and turn to it. This can be photography, theater performances, installations and videos. In this way, I fill the source and manifest something of my own. Basically, this is visual art. But when I work for a long time, sometimes I feel that I need the support of the original impulse. And then I turn to my collections and photo notebooks, where I write a lot. If contact with the source is established and you learn and develop yourself as a creator, then you easily and clearly feel responses from the outside. They can appear anywhere and anytime and not only in the field of art. The main thing is to notice and save them. They can also be a support.
Who are your influences?
Of course, classical music education played a huge role in the formation of my personality. I often come into contact with true art, working in the theater. This maintains my susceptibility and fills me with emotions. I.S. Bach, S.S. Prokofiev, D.D. Shostakovich, P.I. Tchaikovsky, G.F. Handel, V.A. Gavrilin, V.A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven are my masters in the field of music. But visual thinking develops separately from music. At the moment, I can name only one artist, most of whose works not only responded to me, but made me feel how static visual art can shine with eternal truth, I am talking about Mikhail Vrubel. I can also highlight individual works that influenced my visual awareness, such as the book by Giorgos Yatromanolakis The Splitting of the Chrysalis and the Slow Unfolding of the Wings, the works of the photo artist Laura Makabrescu, the installations of Mat Collishaw, the photographs of Elizaveta Porodina. I am also influenced by poetry, choreography, fairy tales, animation and cinema.
What determines the subject matter you choose?
Again, an internal impulse, a response. It is simply impossible to invest in creating something if there is no sincere involvement. Some stories require an outlet first. Usually these are personal topics. Art is a wonderful way of healing. For example, to work on social projects, you need to have a strong will. And to become strong, you first need to help yourself.
What impact would you like your art to have?
I want to manifest the invisible aspects of our existence, interpreting them through visual images, because I consider them to be of primary importance. To open souls, overcoming barriers in the form of fears and traumas. To touch difficult and frightening topics gently and with love. And simply to bring at least a brief joy with my works.
What artwork do you never get bored with?
I love works that have the imprint of the author's personal presence. I like to get to know the inner world of other people and I appreciate it when an artist does not adapt to the framework of modern trends and does not copy what the world has already seen. There is no need to break your vision to fit already invented canons, otherwise our unique imprint will fade.
Is there anything you want to add?
Show what can be felt. Open not for the eyes, but for the heart, to meet not empty glances, but passionate souls.

I will be where eternity is
Project statement

Through the image of a butterfly, I immerse myself in the most tragic event in my life — my father’s suicide. I was seven years old when he hanged himself. At that moment, I was in the next room. I began to study the consequences of trauma in adulthood, when I realized that thoughts of suicide, the desire to cut my body, endless melancholy and the inability to build harmonious relationships are the fruits of childhood pain. I experienced shock and, as a result, a fracture of identity. In the 90s, there was no tendency to go to psychologists, and my mother never discussed this topic with me. Until I was 18, I did not know what he died of, where and why.

In the project, I turn to my memory and subconscious. From fragments of memories and a few things left by my father, I recreate his image in order to build a dialogue. The butterfly is a metaphorical mediator between two worlds. The visual language refers to acute feelings, torment of the soul and an inverted reality.

anna poloneeva
@anna.vi.savanna