SKT TALKS TO..SCIFIER
https://www.sktgallery.com/blog/skt-talks-scifier
SKT TALKS TO…SCIFIER - INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER AND ARTIST.
Behind the evocative name “Scifier” there is an internationally published and award winning photographer and artist Irina Petrova. She specializes in wild life micro-photography and science-fiction inspired installations organically integrating living and artificial entities. She is a winner of many awards and prizes, including five recent awards in MIFA 2020.
A unique feature of her work is that she only uses retro manual focus lenses to capture and share the wonders of the world.
Hello Scifier and thank you so much for being here with us sharing a piece of your world.
Hello Brioni and thank you so much for your interest in my work!
As an artist inspired by science fiction and artificial entities, expressing yourself mixing more than one artistic language, what is the level of criticality surrounding the creation of your art pieces and how much do you think the artists are developing their practice towards sustainability?
My world is a universe of living technology, the world where reality and fantasy harmonize and oscillate in unison with my thoughts, where creations of sci-fiction worlds cohabit with samples of the animate world. Human society faces unprecedented challenges to reduce the environmental impact of current consumption techniques. Where incremental conventional improvements to current styles of living, and, most importantly, styles of thinking, can be realized, the net benefits are often far outstripped by the demands of rapidly increasing population growth and urbanization. Against the backdrop of this enormous societal drama, it is imperative to explore alternative, unconventional approaches towards changing human apprehension of the world and creature populating it, to envision a paradigm shit in how we imagine sourcing, processing and consumption of the products and materials, to shape these in a sustainable way. My art works aim to shift the paradigm and the style of thinking, by bringing dreams into reality and the reality into the dreams.
We are SKT, and we aim to create a scattered gallery without borders. We want to break boundaries and being as much as inclusive as we can, spreading art for everyone by everyone, all around. We teamed up with WhereFromUK because we wanted to add sustainability as central-theme of the contemporary artistic research. It is something that cannot be ignored. Why you chose to work with focus lenses to share the “wonders of the world”? And how your practice is connected with sustainability?
Yes, my unique feature is that I use only low-cost retro manual focus lenses to capture wonders of everyday life. Some of my retro lenses cost as low as $7.This is because I believe the photographer is a key to success not the tools. I am against thoughtless consumption culture and try not to buy too much. Older lenses fit perfectly into this concept.
Your piece is called “The X-Files. Ecological Disaster in an Industrial Wonderland” what is the story behind it and what would you like us to feel when looking at it? What was the inspiration behind the creation?
I was born, raised and lived in the industrial part of Russia. Every day of my childhood began with an asthmatic cough and a look at the sky, dirty from the emissions into the atmosphere of the local metallurgical plant. We were frightened with two-headed fish in a local pond and children born with terrible sickness due to environmental pollution and radiation. When I grew up, I decided to try to look into the probable future and show the world possible options for development.
The project “The X-Files. Ecological Disaster in an Industrial Wonderland” is designed to draw attention to the problems of the human influence on the environment, such as changing the genome of living organisms in order to obtain certain benefits for humanity, the effect of radiation on the growth of animals and plants, climate change issues and environmental pollution. It is like surrealistic world of Alice in Wonderland, which can unfortunately become a reality one day soon.
Can you share with us what do you do to be more conscious and live towards a zero waste life in your own personal life?
As I said, I am against a thoughtless consumer culture. I don't buy things I don't need. I also try to reuse materials, often for creating dioramas and installations from rubbish or unnecessary, broken things.
You are a successful photographer, if you could choose one sustainable brand to work with, which one would you choose and why?
I'd choose SONY, I'm not an ambassador yet, but I'd like to be. I love the project "Picture This" by Sony Pictures Television Networks, it invites the viewers to 'Picture' a Better World, Then Help Create It “Picture This” echoes the sentiment of Unilever’s Project Sunlight — a global campaign launched in November 2013 aimed at motivating millions to live sustainably. Through the campaign, the consumer goods giant has set out to make sustainable living desirable and achievable by inspiring people to imagine the possibilities of a world where everyone lives well, within the natural limits of the planet.
Why do you think it’s important for the artists to use their voices to talk about climate change?
Art is changing the world, especially now when everyone can be heard. I think, through art, artists can more clearly explain the problems associated with climate change and reach out to indifferent people making them think about the future of our planet.
We are not the masters of the planet, we are just guests, so why do we behave as if we do not want to come to the planet again.
Tell us one last thing, something you would like to say to the art community that for you is important.
Believe in yourself and in what you do, be honest to yourself, your audience, because people feel the fake ideas in art, they can't resonate with something you don't believe yourself. Never stop dreaming and creating.
Thank you Scifier, we enjoyed so much talking to you.
Brioni
