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I am a Russian-born artist based in Scotland. Some of my works might imply something very absurd and not entirely cheerful in their very idea, but I try to present the subject so it is slightly exaggerated and sentimental, and always filled with emotions. Russians are guided by their emotions, not by common sense, and this has an effect on all my work (whether I am paying myself a compliment here, I am not sure..).
My characters might look quite realistic and recognisable, but their grotesque figures make them look ironic-we see one thing but they tell us another. Like many things in life-things are not always the way they seem. In other words, life as we see it but don't always notice.
I want to provoke a comment, a reaction, an emotion. I want to make you smile.
Growing up under the authoritarian Soviet regime, when ordinary Russians had to wear that drab look of obedience and self suppression, I had always wanted to escape from that total uniformity and find the way to express my vision of life in a different way, reflecting happier, funnier side of everyday events.

My characters sometimes seem emotionally isolated, keeping themselves to themselves, even when they are clustered in groups, but they are not lacking emotions, they only express them in their own way. They are content and happy, yet they do not take themselves too seriously.