Anastasia Slavnova
Reflections

Anastasia Slavnova’s art explores philosophical subjects important to every thinking individual. A key motif recurring throughout her oeuvre is the constant struggle of good and evil. ‘Acting on an inner impulse, I address the subjects that resonate with me most. Guided purely by my own vision, I attach certain meanings to images without thinking whether their combinations are appropriate in the conventional sense,’ comments the artist.

The advancement of photo and video technology in the 20th century and the radical shift in the consciousness of those who witnessed the horrors of the two world wars reconceptualised the medium of painting. No longer purporting to imitate reality, painters delved into more complex emotional and subconscious states. For instance, Anselm Kiefer manages to encapsulate the existential experience by using primitive materials instrumental to human existence: clay, sand, wood, straw, and ash. Like an alchemist, he turns textures into meanings. Building on this legacy, Anastasia Slavnova uses textures to create images. Dabbing a welter of paint on canvas, the artist gradually organises this chaos, moulding it into the conceived scene.

On many occasions Anastasia uses unconventional painting tools, like a rolling pin or a pet hair remover. Cinders, soil, moss, and twigs are layered on the canvas together with paint. Recent experiments with technique have resulted in thinner, less sculptural paintwork. The overall colour palette is also changing, as the artist jettisons commercially available paints in favour of her own, mixed from natural pigments and binder.

‘Art does not require perfect form – it needs hundreds of forms, millions of expression methods. Like life itself, it is laden with both the horrible and the beautiful,’ muses Anastasia walking her dog, once saved from cruel treatment, along the Ladoga Lake shore. These walks through desolate landscapes in which human presence is marked only by scattered garbage prompt her to ponder the confrontation and connection between man and nature.

Moved by compassion for all living beings, the artist adheres to a strict moral code in both art and life, helping animals, removing waste bottles and plastic bags from the protected lake shores, and refraining from meat. Noting a deep connection between the visible and the concealed, she feels a strong urge to reveal it. The resulting images of barren spaces are interpreted by the artist as 'soul-searching landscapes wherein visions of nature help one escape the outside world, plunge into the depths of subconscious, and reunite with one’s inner self.'