Maria Luneva (@supinatra) is a Russian artist based in Moscow with a mesmerizing instagram account where she posts surreal images and videos where nature, performance, self
Can you introduce yourself?
I'm 23, I was born and live in Moscow, Russia. I studied industrial and car design but, in terms of the artworks I share, I'm self-taught. Apart from what I learn every day from different artists, all that visual information undoubtedly affects my creativity.
To what degree your studies and upbringing influence your art?
All my studies were a series of unconscious choices, since I could not find something to do that I really liked, but it was necessary to choose something and everyone around me kept repeating that I needed a higher education, as soon as possible. I went to college to be a designer and I am now graduating from university with a specialization in automotive design. But, to be honest, all this knowledge made me understand that I was mistakenly trying to find my place in an already existing, accepted field and that I should develop my path, on my own. In the environment where I grew up artists were not really considered a serious career, since it was too difficult to make a living out of it. I was a little scared, but my mom always encouraged my sculpting and drawing, and therefore, since childhood, I respected my creations so in a way it made it easier for me to start thinking of myself as a free artist.
Your art lives in the intersection between photography, make up, fashion, sculpture and performance. How did you develop your aesthetic?
I would describe my work like this: I admire nature, but it's not enough for me to just look at it, I want to interact with it. So I work with natural elements but I contextualize them in different situations and I show this interaction through photography. The theme of fashion, makeup, performance are very much present in my work simply because the natural elements are incredibly fashionable and interesting in themselves. I just analyze them and find a new application, a new place for them within our human environment.
Why did you use perishable natural elements in your work? It’s important that they are impermanent creations?
The elements of nature are the driving force of my creativity. And the fact that I use ready-made elements that have "created themselves" really blows my mind. I feel the need to touch them, think about them. And the process itself will bring a lot of new impressions. The impermanence of the plant world is a great sorrow for me, I would like to keep my work forever.
What would you like to evoke with your images?
I want to show nature from a different angle, show her great sense of fashion! Our perception of the world is dulled because we have a definition for everything that limits the range and the depth of our experiences. Sometimes it seems to me that nature is held hostage by the meanings that we have projected onto it. And I would like to remove all meanings and definitions, I want everyone to look at a flower petal as if they had never seen one before and do not know what it is. Once somebody wrote me, that after watching my works, nature seems more attractive. I think this is the best I could ever achieve.
Does your work deal with the theme of identity?
I'm 23 and just a year ago I still didn't know what to do in my life. It was a sore subject for me. Now I am in a wonderful moment: I have found myself and being able to identify myself as an artist gives me peace of mind and satisfaction. Each of my work is what I extract from myself, but when I show it, I put it back into myself.
And with make up?
I do not really associate my art with makeup, because it is not an end in itself: looking at the petals of a flower, I can shove them into the navel, or I can decide that they will be cilia. I just find a new use for them.
What is your relationship with the natural world?
I love plants and animals, I treat them with great interest. Once, as a child, I even put a frog in my mouth, because I liked it so much! But there is also a downside. Sometimes I feel like a flower killer, as I use a lot of plants for my art. Or you can call me a flower maniac: I love flowers and kill them at the same time. In general, nature gives me a lot. I even have two places of power, where I feel an incredible harmony of calm and joy: a clearing in the country and a clearing with a stream in the forest next to my house in Moscow.
Does irony have a role in your process?
I feel irony is the most valuable result of my work, I am very happy when I manage to come up with something witty. With my work, I try to hack the brain and tickle it. I don't really mind if my work causes disgust or other negative emotions: it's not about beauty in its usual sense, but about the thought process, references and irony.
How much does your work deal with memory, childhood, nostalgia?
It took me a while to realize that my work is an echo of childhood impressions. Since I have started being interviewed, I had to think about the deep reasons behind my artistic process and I rediscovered the importance of childhood. I was strongly influenced by life outside the city, by being close to nature. As a child, I had a passion for dragonflies, frogs and hedgehogs. I had my own pond where I released the fish caught while fishing and fed them all summer. Constant communication with the natural world was an adventure for me, and I still retain this feeling even if now I am more fond of plants and insects.
What art inspires you?
I am amazed by witty works, where some objects are recontextualized and play the role of others. I also love to follow mask artists, I have a penchant for them and I did make some plant-based masks myself.
What's your relationship with social media, especially regarding your work?
Social media had a huge impact on my self realization. It’s a simple, great tool which helps me to easily show my arts and visions to others. But sometimes it feels like it’s a completely different world, I need a rest from it quite often.
What is the most thought-provoking and challenging image you took in your opinion?
Usually I don’t do any thought provoking stuff, As an artist I research images and I’m more into making mind-hacking effects by doing unexpected combinations of visual associations. With that in mind, I still can’t really choose only one. I feel like they all are connected as in a sort of kaleidoscope and they are all part of my tiny world - and of course you are all invited to visit it! ?
What are you currently working on?
Now I’m chilling in my country side house. At the moment, I feel some change in my vision and ways of expressing myself. So far I do not know what exactly will change in my work, but I feel that something will change.
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