Yana Strizh's artistic approach is a fascinating blend of goth, renaissance, psychedelic, and surreal elements, reflecting her exploration of the intersection between higher and lower natures. Her work appears to tell a narrative about the human condition, the pursuit of true beauty, and the quest for freedom. With a degree in cultural studies and a background in religious and cultural traditions, Yana brings a rich tapestry of influences to her art, rooted in a lifelong journey to comprehend the world and her role within it.
Exploring Transcendental Eroticism Through Photography and Collage Art by Yana Strizh
In the realm of education, I embody the roles of a culturologist and religious scholar, dedicating much of my life to the pursuit of genuine beauty and authentic freedom. My journey meandered through the exploration of prominent religions and cultural traditions. I engage in a dance with religious connotations, challenge the values of academic canon, and expose the raw reality of human existence. I view humanity as an unfinished being, entangled in a profound struggle between its lower and higher essence.
Yana's Interview
by Aris Moskov
Q: Your Photography and Collage Art give me the impression of a magnificent exposure of something holy and unholy at the same time. What do you want to express through your Artwork?
A: "Thank you. I am both flattered and pleased that my message resonated with you so well. For me, my art, the search for, and the pain of, the human condition all manifest through the confluence of conflict of the higher and lower natures. This is what all academic art is about, if one deciphers the clues and looks at the symbolism.
Luke 11:35: Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
What interests me is this cross-section of the collective psyche, this underside of reality.
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to chthonic mythology, the kind that deals with the wild power of the earth and underground kingdoms.
Now, in my art, I like to evoke this chthonic fear in the audience, the fear one feels towards the forces of nature and death, which are impossible to overcome.
To me, chthonic cults symbolize the fact that we must respect our inner, dark, irrational, and unfettered power and learn to reign it in. Recognize, explore, and tame our own dragon. Examine more closely the logic and grandeur of ancient understandings of the world. Ask ourselves some questions, for example, "What did the humans gain by desacralizing the world?" And whether an existence bereft of divinity, God, and gods, could be a fertile ground for a new type of art.
Q: What do you feel exactly during a shooting, what happens in your mind?
A: "Well, I guess you could say that the creative process is a kind of ritual for me. I relish the ability to experiment and leave the bounds of my inner self, the ability to consciously explore the unconscious. Each photoshoot is akin to a passage through an inner labyrinth. An opportunity to examine my inner landscape and feel my true desires. But also it is a challenge to stay in contact with the model. Not to imitate, but to truly see them. Art gives one the right to be free. An unfettered paradise, free from all control and discipline. The place where your shadow, your spirits, and the supra-personal dwell."
Q: Your moto is " I make seduction visible". What is Seduction for you?
A: "This is an interesting question. We humans are so limited in our ability to understand each other through language. For one the word seduction means huge cream cakes with blue rosettes, for another it means an opium den with beautiful snake women writhing with desire, and for another still it means betrayal and chests laden with gold stolen from his brother.
The seduction or temptation is a call of sorts, a call from wickedness, a departure beyond the bounds of morality. There can be a healthy side to it: an escape from arbitrary taboos, or a dark side: a subjugation by one's instincts.
I often face inner temptations, for it is my nature to be a willful free spirit, and my energy is boundless. So, at some level, my whole life is a fight with temptation.
To be truthful, my main temptation lies in the realm of the body. Power and wealth do not tempt me at all, but attempts to find love… Those are something my instincts drive me too.
Q: What about your next plans and projects? Which vision do you follow for your Creative future?
A: "It has become important for me to carry my message and to be heard. You could say my revolutionary alarmism has heightened and I want to scale my projects accordingly. I have fully matured in my themes. They have finally taken form and so I am ready to express them at an audience. You could say that I have emerged from a period of self-reflection where I had no need for audiences, where I was maturing au jus. I now seek to enter the transpersonal space, speak into our shared collective unconscious and be heard. I want to create symbolic and enlightening fairy tales that will nourish modern unenlightened souls with meaning.
I seek to, and forgive me for this, sing an ode to the primordial Chaos, affirm the inseparability of spirituality and sexuality, awaken people's ritual thinking, and ignite in them the desire to reconnect with their shadow. To create a semantic and visual iconostasis that can help reconcile our inner man of the West with our own individual, secret, and inchoate history, with the non-European cultures that are still alive within each of us.
I have begun to use mixed media: photography, collage, and painting, for the archetypal layers and intersections of meanings demand to be expressed via a confluence of techniques. I hope I will soon to be heard by a grateful audience and hope to benefit them."
