Hello Dear Natalie Ina. Thank you for giving us the chance to Interview with you. Our first question is how the “Covid-19” affects your art?

Hi! In the first words I would like to say that I'm very pleased that you are interested in my work.

Answering your question, I can say that over these two years, many events have happened in my life that have allowed me to develop professionally, but covid-19 has not had a direct impact on this. 

However, there have been changes within the creative community that, in my opinion, have affected every artist. Due to the events related to covid-19, a huge number of people who were not previously interested in art in the online environment began to take an active part. At the same time, those people who in the old days were interested in one or more narrow areas in art, revised their priorities and were able to turn to what they really like. Summing up, I will say that people simply began to spend more time in online, which could not but make their own adjustments.
 
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what drove you to choose art as a career?

I'm a person who has an individual vision and my own language of symbols (like every person). 
Art is the path from inner subconscious sensations to creative realization in physical embodiment.
My art is a reflection of the surrounding world inside me, which I implement in a visual way.
Since my youth, I understood that the world around me is imperfect, but there are details in it that are so beautiful that it seemed impossible not to pay attention to them. And I began to build my vision of the world from these details. Over time, I learned to preserve their image and transform them within the framework of my vision of beauty. And the more time I devoted to these metamorphoses, the more clear and thoughtful my "world of images" became. It seems to me that Creativity has chosen me and as a result has become for me not only a career, but also a direction of spiritual development.
 
What is your background as an artist? Do you remember when you first started photography?

My creative path began from childhood, when I tried to display aspects of the surrounding reality in a form that was accessible to me at that time (poems and drawings). This was followed by art education (Art School and Stroganov Academy of Arts and Industry), which allowed to obtain the technical basis for the implementation of creative ideas. Of the many techniques I mastered during my studies, painting turned out to be the closest to me, but the framework of realism that the teachers presented as the basis was too narrow for me, and after leaving I independently mastered the possibilities to go beyond these borders. 

I mastered the art of photography by myself, in parallel with my official education. And I realized that the methods used in these areas can complement each other.
 
There is a sense of emotional depth in your artwork. How do you go deep within yourself to create work that feels so intense?

In my opinion, immersion in oneself is a normal human condition. After all, we know the world around us through our own perception. Such a reflexive and empathic experience, with proper analysis, gives the necessary depth.

Those emotions, the reflection of which can be seen in my works, accompany me constantly. Analyzing this emotional background, it is possible to highlight details from it, that will fill my works with something alive. Yes, I look at the inner world through the same "optics" as the world around me. Also knowledge and experience allows me to act non-trivial. So, through my comprehension of experience, knowledge and the emotional components of my life, the depth you named is born on my works.
 
What is the most challenging part of being a photographer? And what challenges did early photographers face?

Even at the beginning of my creative career, I was faced with the problem of misunderstanding of my aspirations and creativity from the surrounding close to me at that time. In addition, I was faced with the problem of negativization of some themes in art by a wide audience. Those themes who were close to me and were reflected in my work. It was psychologically difficult to overcome it, but in the end, it only pushed me to go further and further on the way to my Star and create new works.

Also sometimes it becomes very difficult for me in my profession, when people come to me who are not ready to open up, who are consumerist to creativity, and on the set, it becomes very difficult for me when my gaze penetrates the concrete walls. They think that they will hide behind them from my sight, but they are not. Inside I see the dead waters, the rotting November leaves of old fears, hopes, all this pain that they don't want to look at, and the castle is crumbling, gradually, the beams and supports are falling down, but people don't see behind the myriad masks, they hope to hide until everything collapses...

When working on a photoshoot, a person's inner feelings and experiences are revealed like a book. It is very important to be on the same wavelength, trust and open up from both sides, only then we can embody something incredibly beautiful and deep.
 
We saw a lot of women in your artworks. We want to talk about the “Women’s” figure of yours. Can you tell us more about why you choose the womens for your main theme?

I would like to say right away that only the female image is not the basis of my creativity. I show those invisible at first glance human features that most reveal the inner beauty of a person. Those fragments in which you can see the reflection of her/his soul. The inner world of everyone is multifaceted and regardless of gender, there is something beautiful hidden in this world. Most of my works require special plasticity and body lines, inherent mainly in women, but not only. In addition, in the early stages of my creative career, my surrounding consisted mainly of girls, and I invited them as models. Than, when working through the images, I realized that for me as a woman, the female "body language" is closer and clearer. So it is easier for me to work with women. But this should not become a limitation, and among the projects I have planned, there are those in which a man plays a central role. But it is quite difficult to find a man of a suitable physique and psychological state for my shooting.
 
Which software do you use when editing images?

For the preliminary editing of photography, namely the creation of basic color correction, the selection of suitable color combinations, I use a Lightroom mobile. For full editing, including detailed color correction and retouching, I use Photoshop. It is very important for me to use the latest versions of programs in my work, because they are supplemented with new tools that can expand the range of creative possibilities.
 
What is your aesthetic, and how does it inspire you?
 
My aesthetic system has been formed for a long time and consists of the details of the surrounding world, which I mentioned earlier. Its components can be natural phenomena, both grandiose and not noticeable at first glance, elements of the human body, movements, sounds, light and much more. They can be gleaned from a variety of sources, from a walk in the woods to a video game. A special beauty that can become part of the image is hidden everywhere, it just need to see.
 
 
What are you working on at the moment? Can you give us a spoiler on what’s coming next for Natalie Ina?

There is a lot of work now, as well as always. Several projects are currently at different stages of readiness. Two series of photos are currently being in progress and I recently posted spoilers about one of them on Instagram. Another series made using the costume of a famous designer is almost ready for completion and it will be partially or completely published as part of the NFT project. In my opinion, this new direction in the art market is very promising, besides it is very important to keep up with the times. Work has been completed on a series of photography taken for the design of a new album by a wonderful musical artist Day Before Us. The album is scheduled for release next year. Also, I'm preparing material for my mini course on color correction. This is all just part of my current projects.
 
Anything else you'd like to mention that I didn't ask?

In conclusion, I would like to say that my creativity is not only a profession for me. This is my life. Each of my works contains a part of me. My art speaks by my voice to everyone who sees it. And in my opinion, creativity in general cannot be entertainment, it is backed by the lives of those people who, like me, saw their beauty in the world and decided to show it by creating something unique. In addition, this concept is multifaceted and can include unexpected at first glance manifestations in any field of activity. After all, many scientific discoveries were initially reflected in works of art. And your magazine, in my opinion, is also a wonderful creative project. By supporting authors with your publications, you create your own special artwork, and I'm grateful to you for your business.

Thank you for your time!
 
 
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