Interview: Nadia Sh Mikhailo
Luca Curci talks with Nadia Sh Mikhailo during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021, at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space.

“My artistic style is positive decorative realism. I created my own unique technique under influence of Pop-culture. My art is diverse and bright. It is about happiness, beauty, dreams, music and travelling and sometimes I add a little humor, a little philosophy and get pictures, looking at which you can get stuck and take a break from the hustle and bustle. I want my artworks to charge people with positivity and sunshine into their hearts. My work will resonate with those people who love cinema, classical literature, music and traveling. I work in mixed media: watercolor, acrylic, pencils, pastel on the paper or canvas. Art is freedom for me. That is way I never limit myself in what i want to paint, how and in what media”.

LUCA CURCI – What is art for you?
NADIA SH MIKHAILO – Art for me is a place where people can have a rest and positive charge. it is freedom. it is the absence of borders. Art connects people. it is an eternal way of communication, becouse through art in all ages artists have passed messages and reflected the thoughts or trends of the time they lived.

LC – What are you currently working on?
NSM – I am currently working on a painting for the Planet of the Apes. I was inspired by one of my favorite cult movie Planet of the Apes (1968) and an ordinary statuette that I found in Ivolginsky Datsan (Buryatia, Siberia). I have big plans for it. I plan to do a medium format serie of 3 works.

LC – What is your creative process like?
NSM – I paint my works right away without sketching. first I write down ideas in my notebook just to remember. During painting I keep the image in my head and edit it on the canvas in the process. I do this because if I sketch first, my mind will mark that the picture is already drawn and I lose interest and inspiration. That’s why I start right away with a blank canvas. While working, I turn on my favorite music or my favorite movies that I have watched 1000 times or YouTube. This creates active working mood for me and helps to reduce the level of my perfectionism. Most often these are action movies of the 90s . So, if from my studio you can hear someone’s chasing somebody, sounds of sirens and many other typical action movies sounds – e sure, a new masterpiece is born!

LC – Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
NSM – I don’t like to impose my ideas on a viewer. In this sense, I try to be delicate. My works are like Tarot cards, which means that a viewer looks at them and finds the meanings close only to a viewer. But, perhaps, most often in my works are dedicated to the theme of the choice, freedom and happiness.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
NSM – This is a great time for an artist. Through the Internet every artists has opportunity to demonstrate art works and sell worldwide. Plus, countries are perfectly connected by the Post. Nowadays we have a great deal of variety of media for creating art. Now there are many online courses, which makes it possible to master your skills with artists from all over the world. New technologies are developing, but hand-drawn paintings – I’m sure will always be appreciated. therefore, I believe that being an artist is really promising.

LC – In which way the artwork presented in our exhibition is connected with the exhibition’s theme?
NSM – My presented artwork Matrix is directly connected with the theme of the exhibition FUTURE LANDSCAPES it is associated with a sense of freedom , infinite extension, state of the mind, wide limits and borders. the human identity in the modern World.

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
NSM – I raise the questions about who you really are and whether you have the courage to make a radical change. It is like Alice’s rabbit hole or Morpheus’s choice of pill for Neo … Or the famous Shakespearean question: To Be or Not To Be? Do you choose to live in the world of new technologies or to continue the old traditional way of life? Accept the changing world towards new technologies and open up to the Internet or stay in the shadows from it and try to live closer to nature, or combine both ways. The rabbit is purposefully dressed in a medieval costume against a digital background from the world of the future. This highlights the contrast between the possible future and the present and the past.

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
NSM – The organization was really well organized. I would like to say my special thank to Giulia Tassi. I really appreciate how she works. I think she is a very good professional. She is cool!

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
NSM – 100% yes. Exhibitions with ITSLIQUID GROUP provide an opportunity to grow and advance your career.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
NSM – It was my first time and I m very lucky to have this experience with ITSLIQUID GROUP I will definitely recommend it!