Unlocking symbolism. An interview with artist Tatyana Vafina

Hi everyone! Welcome to issue 7 of our #ourstudents series, a run of interviews where our students talk about themselves and their art.

For this issue we invited one of our graduates, the artist Tatyana Vafina. Tatyana’s works have a poetic mystery to them, and each one is both a reflection in its own right and a piece in the larger puzzle of the artist’s world.

What inspires you to make work?

Anything that moves me emotionally. Events, people, conversations, films, music, the beauty of nature — the space around us is full of subjects and reasons to speak. Creative people tend to listen and look more closely at what is going on around them, finding ideas and new meanings and running them through their own sensibility.

What subjects do you raise in your art?

My statement is a reflection on a deep psychological level, a wish to explore the subconscious through the language of symbols.

I take on important intrapersonal and interpersonal psychological questions and themes, running them through myself and my inner world, going down into the depths of my own inner space, where I am honest with myself, where I can find answers to my questions and sometimes discover something completely unexpected.

How did studying on the program “I Want Into the Art World” help you?

Oh, I did not even really know how to put together a portfolio and the paperwork, or in what order!

Maria, first of all as a perceptive psychologist, helped me get past the fear and the barriers that were keeping me from speaking freely about my art, from stepping out of my introvert’s shell, from being as honest as possible in what I say — and that matters enormously. Who better than the artist to talk about the work in detail and lead the viewer through it by the hand? That is the skill we worked on in my sessions with Maria.

What do you consider your main achievement so far?

I value every step, however small, that makes my art visible. Probably the most important thing is that I found my gallery and became its resident. Triptych, a contemporary art gallery I love, believed in me, and that is incredibly precious.

A solo show, “In a Dark Room” (Triptych), the group show “Each One / The Only One” (Gallarty), taking part in the 7th contemporary art market WIN-WIN at Winzavod, a feature in Art MUSE magazine, the international poster for Tina Barkalaya’s film “Hoffmann’s Tales”, built around my work “The Beginning” — a year ago all of this would have seemed unreal to me.

What is your mission as an artist?

I see my mission as an artist in using my works and symbols to stir emotion and feeling in the viewer, to leave an aftertaste and a trail of inner reflection on the themes encoded in my pieces.

Can you give three pieces of advice to artists who want to make contemporary art?

Make work, be sincere and be open!