Interview: Victoria V
Luca Curci talks with Victoria V during THE BODY LANGUAGE 2021, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Born in Ukraine and based in Vienna, Austria, Victoria V has incorporated in her art practice influences of Eastern European aesthetics as well as Western approach. Interested in ancient symbols and mythology, she combines intuitive yet expressive manner with contemporary influences, planting Kandinsky’s and Itten’s theories on form and color impact. Victoria’s figurative as well as abstract artworks explore the humans’ social boundaries along with personal ones, engaging concepts of trance, subconsciousness, sexuality, mystics and symbolism; while different media (acrylics, markers, collage, papier-mâché, ink etc.) used in her practice allow Victoria to create multi-dimensional textured original artworks with strong emotional vibes.

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Victoria V – Art for me is freedom and connection to something bigger, like archetypes, and other realities. I am creating my own worlds, when creating my artworks, I am reconsidering and reviewing humanity, social and personal boundaries. Art means for me the possibility to touch my intuitive side of my personality and to feel and to express some things, which we might not see in our day-to-day lives. Art means for me the point where I am connecting with the past and looking into the future while getting the dialogue with the audience and showing them the ephemeral and mystical side of our being.

LC – How did you get to your current artistic practice?
VV – I always liked to paint and to draw with different media and to experiment with the textures, colors and lines. And I always was interested in not obvious things, that’s why I create my artworks basing on symbols and meditative images as well as deeper and hidden meanings. The theories of colour and form by Kandinsky and Itten as well as psychological studies by Karl Jung influenced me as a personality, therefore I try to depict my personal interpretation of these matters in my practice.

LC – How do you choose your subjects? Is it a reasoned or an instinctive process?
VV – Sometimes I choose my subjects absolutely in an intuitive way, thinking about some social or personal processes and getting different insights and feelings, which I want to transfer to the canvas. But sometimes I feel inspired by some personalities or objects, which I want to research in a deeper way through lines, colors and textures.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
VV – The most challenging part for me while creating my artworks is to bring and define the topics from my subconscious level to a conscious one.

LC – How do you feel when you see your work completed?
VV – I like to have this feeling of completed artwork when finding more and more new symbols and meanings, which I might have put on the canvas absolutely intuitively and being in the creative flow.

LC – Can you explain something about the artwork you have in our exhibition?
VV – All the artworks were created during the lockdown time; although I tend to use pure and bright colors in my art practice, the exhibited works have so much red color as an additional vivid accent – maybe as an invigorating touch.

“Medusa Before” is a reflection of the role of (domestic) violence based on the myth about Medusa described by Ovidius in “Metamorphoses”. As we know, Poseidon raped the beautiful Medusa in the temple of Athena, where she was trying to hide from the God of the Sea. The Olympic Gods got angry with Medusa, saying she has defiled the temple and Athena has turned the beautiful young woman into a beast with snakes instead of hair and an ugly face. The artwork “Medusa Before” depicts the offended and humiliated face of the still beautiful young woman, not understanding the rage of gods and being in rage at the same time on them. Within the last year, many women of the world felt the (domestic) violence connected with the social restrictions and quarantine; so, therefore, the face of the Medusa might be a symbol of the last year and all the woman, humiliated and offended and nor understanding, what their fault is, why they’ve got into the situation of violence and powerlessness.

“Do You Really Think?” is a reflection on the place the human’s subconsciousness is taking part in our lives. We think, that we control our mind and our thoughts, that we control all incoming information, analyze it and behave accordingly to logic. The white structure paste on the canvas is the symbol of the logical, “conscious” mind; while the black threads – tangled, hanging as tentacles out of the androgyne’s head – as symbols of our subconsciousness, irrational mind, are out of our control, analyze, but influencing human in a high level. Our subconscious part is always awake, scanning the atmosphere around us, the void around us, without us understanding and controlling it…
“Evolution” is a reflection on personal evolution, when through some suffers and pain in our lives, we’re feeling lost and broken, but out of this pain comes a new life, a new stronger personality, with an outstanding vision of its past and future, knowing its wishes and inspired by the new feeling of self-esteem and self-consciousness. This artwork was created especially for the Body language Exhibition since I was inspired by its topic.

LC – What do you think about the concept of this festival? How did it inspire you?
VV – As I’ve mentioned before, the concept of the festival motivated me, because I like to reconsider some deep matters, connected with the human body, sexuality, self-expression. We’re living in interesting times, when people are asking so many questions to themselves and trying to find the right answers, building up their own philosophy of being.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
VV – I would like to say thank you to the whole ITSLIQUID Group for this magnificent opportunity provided to the contemporary artists in this challenging time, to speak to the audience and to show their artworks in original.

LC – What are your suggestions about our services? Is there something more we can provide to artists?
VV – I’m absolutely inspired by your service and I am grateful to be chosen to exhibit with ITSLIQUID GROUP.

LC – What is your idea about ITSLIQUID GROUP?
VV – It was my first cooperation with ITSLIQUID GROUP, but it is an absolutely positive and inspiring experience. I am happy, that the GROUP has a goal to show the world emerging as well as established artists in order to broaden the dialogue between the artistic world and the audience.