Эллен Шейдлин – русская звезда мирового арта / Ellen Sheidlin – global art star from Russia
[This material (information) in created and distributed by a foreign agent Yury Dud] Do you want to tear the petals away? Sheldina, Sheidullina.. Oh.. Shelll. Anything but Sheidlina.
Let's play! I'm nervous. Stop. Stop. I'll talk to you when I'm ninety. We'll see if I've done it. For those wandering what is going on..
I'm going to show many beautiful pictures here. You are making all these pictures. I've known your works for a while. I've been following your Instagram for many years.
I've decided to meet you in the last few months. And I have a personal reason for that. My daughter is a teenager and she likes arts. She likes drawing.. She likes making collages. She likes working with the visuals. She's making videos instead of writing a paper on fleas. She's making these little funny sketches. She and her friends love arts. I've realized how powerful visual art can be.
It helps you in many things. It helps you find an escape.. It helps you communicate..It helps you escape from reality.. Or find a reality.. Or find one. Even if doesn't become her job it is still very useful.
It changed my perception of art very much. I would like to talk to you because you are one of the outstanding creators in this world. In these couple of days I would like to learn more about your art and its features. Ellen Sheidlin 29 years old An artist 4.2 million Instagram followers Born in Saratov Seoul South Korea We're meeting in Korea. Why here? I've had a great opportunity to become a ceramicist here.
I'm studying it in Seoul. You're involved in different forms of art, mostly photography.. You are also an artist and now you are studying sculpting. You came here to study, didn't you? I did. Ellen, what is going on? Usually my husband helps me make these pictures. When I come to different countries I love working with local talents. I've been working in the studio for two months.
I was sculpting and also drawing daily sketches. This is a challenge that artists go through to break their boundaries. I decided to make this picture for my best friend who passed away. Did she kill herself? She did. Plaaastic passed away five years ago. On our last picture I was giving her a rose with a cigarette in it. Plaaastic is now gone. So now I'm kissing this rose. This element between my eyes is a nod to my piercing. This one is glued, right? It is.
Many people liked this idea. Pure D is a make-up artist. I asked her to help me. She invited a big team of make-up artists and stylists together with a filming crew. This is how we got here.
Is this our chance to show people who don't know you what you are doing? I guess. You can use this backstage video to explain why I made the picture. I might not explain it on Instagram because I'm focused on my visuals, not the text. It has a meaning for me and it might have a different meaning for you. You might associate it with your first love or the first rose that you gave to someone you liked. Everyone would find their own meaning. This is a homage to my master. Plaaastic showed me how to be an artist. Can we compare it to listening to music? When you are listening to a song..
You find your own meaning of the song. You imagine that you are a superhero.. Everyone has their own meaning of Voyager-1 by Noize MC. Are these made of silicone? They are.
Where did you find this tiny pieces? These are custom made petals. I asked Pure D to help me with the shooting and she asked me why didn't I want to use real petals. Using real petals would be much easier. I wanted them to become part of my lips. I'm not using Photoshop to combine layers..
You can press on it. Is it falling down? Thank you. I might edit the picture to add some light or some shade. These petals would turn into my lips. I wanted to make my mouth look like a flower.
I got this idea and I wanted to find a creative way to make it happen. Art is always artificial. Art is always trying to imitate nature. I'm doing my best to imitate nature. This is a real stem, though. It's already dead. Are these petals glued to your mouth? This is a safe make-up glue. It can be easily detached. Do you want to tear the petals away? I don't..
They look so natural. I feel like I would rip your skin away. I don't want to do it. Don't you like picking roses? When I was trying to make the woman of my life like me.. It was during the 2006 FIFA World cup. We had met not long before the cup. She stayed in Moscow and went to Germany to work there. I missed her so much..I was in Hamburg and Ukraine was playing against Italy in the quarterfinals.
I bought a bouquet of roses..I tore the petals away and wrote 'Olya, I miss you' or something like that. I took a picture of this phrase..Why are you laughing? Why are you laughing? He's laughing because this work has made you think of that story. This is art. I was looking at your lips and came back to 2006.
This is what I do. I take people back to their best memories. Exactly. I recalled this story right away. I know how this works now. Yes. [Ads Right for this episode] This is an episode about art. This is an ad about the art, as well.
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You can split the payment into four parts. You will be paying for the course biweekly for the first two months. You can use both a Russian credit card and any other credit card. Click at the link in the description and purchase your subscription. Back to Korea. You were born and raised in Saratov.
What do you think about this city? I didn't want to leave it. I don't have many memories of my childhood. I have more memories of Saint Petersburg. I like Saratov because I grew up there. However, I don't remember the names of the streets. You lived there until you were sixteen. Until I was twenty. I have some flashes of memories which are all related to arts.
I remember finding my dad's drawings of his friends. I would tell him I would draw portraits better than him when I would grow up. I remember sewing new clothes for my Barbie doll. I was having a fashion show. I didn't even know fashion shows were a thing.
My mom was subscribed to interior design magazines. I would cut pictures from these magazines to make my dream house. I glued these pictures on card box. I remember going to school. Nobody noticed me before the ninth year of school. And then I took part in anti-smoking event. I wrote a poem together with my grandmother. My classmate was playing music while I was reading the poem out loud.
We won the contest. This is my only memory from school. Guys from the eleventh grade asked me if I was a new girl. I'd been studying there for six years. They said that they liked my performance. Were you so shy? Nobody noticed me.
Can you tell us about this look? A good friend of mine is a hairdresser. He told me to work with this Korean designer when I come to Korea. Her name is Kim Hi Kim. She's making dresses with hair. This is his art. He never lets anyone wear these dresses. Is this real human hair? It's not. This is fake hair.
He's making dresses of this hair. I tried to find my future Korean friends that I would work with. I would like to build my career in Asia. I really like Asia. Jeong is one of the most important cultural values in Korea. It can be described as strong emotional connection to people. This connection is not built in a day and it lasts forever. What is my connection with Korea and Asia in general? How can I show it on picture? Cutting your hair is often associated with leaving your past behind.
Communicating with Korean people is hard for me. I asked an elderly woman how could I build a connection with Korean people. They don't let you close. She told me to be friends with them for at least ten years. This is not what you see on the set. They are nice and happy but if you ask them anything personal..
They get nervous and don't text you anymore. You might never see them again. You've crossed their borders. Did you draw this sketch? I did. You drew it in your sketchbook. You sent it to me on Telegram. You drew it.
I did. You knew this would become a photo. I did.
This is how it works. So you and your husband made this happen. There were a few stylist and make-up artists on the set. Zhenya was taking pictures.
Yes. Are these guys getting paid? They are not. Nobody is getting paid for making these creative pictures. Neither me nor them.
Everyone does what they can. What if this was an advertisement shooting? Everyone would get paid. Okay. If I'm getting paid everyone's getting paid. I've made many creative videos where I've paid for the CGI. I've paid for the music.
If I need some help on the set..Someone brought the dress and someone brought this mask.. If this doesn't take too much time, it's up for them. The final product will be posted on your Instagram. One picture. Unlike Youtube, Instagram doesn't pay you for views.
Right. So you're just building a reputation to make money somewhere else. I think that I'm making a portfolio which is open to anyone.
People would remember me from my pictures. Did this designer understand the concept of this work? Or did she just help you to make it look beautiful? I think that she was looking forward to meeting me. She's been following me on Instagram for eight years. Wow.. The stylist told me that everyone in Korea knows who I am.
I'm a significant figure in the creative community. You did a photoset with Skrillex. It was a long time ago. A very long time ago. How did this happen? On Instagram. He started following me and invited me to come to Los Angeles for this set.
Stop. Stop. Skrillex followed you and texted you.. Back then Instagram would open any door for you if you were doing something cool. So.. The biggest EDM musician in the world texted you on Instagram.
He did. So cool. Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus texted me, too. It doesn't matter.
Skrillex, okay. Skrillex is so great..Miley Cyrus?? No. I was trying get your attention. Does Miley Cyrus text you? She doesn't.
Was this a joke? It was. You met Skrillex in 2016. How did this feel? Well, I thought that I needed to get a visa as soon as possible. I didn't get one. You met in Tokyo, didn't you? We did. It's an interesting story.
I got a big offer. I had already bought my tickets to Japan. I didn't know Skrillex would be there. This was a coincidence. I would make about five million roubles from that offer. This was my biggest paycheck back then. They would pay me for a year of work. I would get an advance payment.. Five million is a lot. No need to explain.
I had to be in Moscow to do this job. At the same time I was about to go to Japan. My first trip to Japan. So you gave up five million to meet Skrillex. I didn't know he would be there. When I arrived in Japan he saw it on my Instagram. He asked me if he could meet me on his last day in Tokyo. So this is how we met.
So what is he like? We went for a walk. He was making many jokes. We were making a lot of pictures. He invited me to come to Los Angeles. He was very friendly. We would hug a lot. I was there with my friends. Was Zhenya with you, too? He was. And there were two of my friends from Hong-Kong. I met Skrillex twice. Both times in Tokyo. You were supposed to make him an album cover or do some promo..
I was going to make the cover. He made a dress for me. An album cover? Yes. But? I didn't get my visa. And he never offered anything else.
One of our previous guests would enjoy this story a lot. Loqiemean is a big fan of Skrillex. I would like to take a moment to support Roma. You're a great guy! My mom owns a spot at a bazaar. She's selling kids clothes. When I was a kid she was a sewer. She was making dresses for me. My dad was a mounted police officer.
Wow. Now he's a guard in a private hospital. Are they still together? They are. You said that your mom got you interested in fashion.
She did. I'm also as brave as her. She's a real businesswoman. She's not afraid of anything. When she sets a goal she always achieves it.
When I started dating my future husband she told me that I couldn't live in his flat. I had to be independent. She wanted to buy me a small flat in Saint Petersburg because she believed in me. She knew I would be making money. She said that they would not be able to support me financially. She said that I had to have a plan before moving to Saint Petersburg.
How old were you? I had just finished high school..I was about eighteen. Did she buy you a flat? She did buy me a one bedroom apartment. In a communal flat.
For how long did you stay there? I stayed there for about three years. I was receiving big orders from being a blogger. In a year we saved enough money to buy a flat. You and Zhenya? Yes. What was living in a communal flat in the 21 century like? The flat was separated by the kitchen. Me and my neighbors lived on one side. One of them was playing video games and he would scream a lot. He would swear at night. I was also a babysitter.
I was working next door. This was my first job. On the other side of the kitchen there was no furniture. I liked this flat. People took care of me there. I looked very young when I moved in. They were teaching me to cook cutlets.
I couldn't use the cooker. I had to buy my own. However, they allowed me to use their cooker. I was privileged. I was in a good relationship with my flatmates.
They were taking care of my cat. Zhenya's parents didn't allow him to leave with me because they thought he would skip his classes. So we went looking for a cat for me. We wanted to name it Seledka. All the cats were too scared and none of them came to us. We found a person who gave us the cat. My life in Saint Petersburg started with my cat. It's still there.
Her name is Lapka. She's a great cat. She's so wise and so affectionate. She sleeps on my pillow. We started in the communal flat with my cat and the cutlets. Zhenya, you are not only Lena's husband. I used to be her photographer. We started our career together.
We were working on our ideas. Now I'm also helping her manage her career. In 2018 she switched from being a blogger to being an artist. I realized that I needed to grow, too. I worked on new skills and decided to become a manager.
So are you her manager and producer? I am. I'm not telling her what to do. We're partners and we have a dialogue. Are you coming from Norilsk? I am. When did you leave it? In 2010. Did you meet Lena after leaving Norilsk? Right. I was on my first year of university when we met.
There is a picture of Lena in Norilsk. Did you bring her there to show her your hometown? This was a project that we did with Norilsky Nickel. They were opening a new stadium and they hired us to promote it.
We agreed to do it because I feel like Norilsky Nickel is a crucial company for the city. I felt like the city invited us to do it. The city is built around this plant. The city belongs to it. I liked being invited by my hometown. You're going to get some hate for this opinion. This happened before the ecological disaster.
The disaster happened six months after our project. We made a couple of publications about it and the company didn't like it. They contacted us and asked us to delete the stories. We didn't do it. We were open about this disaster. Are you wearing all these dresses because you enjoy it? I'm always doing it for myself. Do you care about being appraised and getting compliments? I don't. Zhenya calls me beautiful every day for twelve years that we have been together.
Every day. He's a lunatic. He's such a cute lunatic. He wakes up at night and tells me that I'm beautiful.
And falls asleep. I'm the happiest person in the world. My husband supports me all the time. He told me to come to Korea to study ceramics. I can praise him forever. He's lightened the path for me. He made me believe that I was an artist. He didn't make me an artist. He has just always been by my side. He's believed in me. He never told me no.
He's never mad at me. I can be mad at him. I am the one who gets mad. He's never been mad. Look at him, he's shy. Ellen told me that you were her biggest fan. And the biggest critic. Sometimes he hates what I do. And I have to defend my work.
I get mad when I'm trying to prove him something. You're pitching your ideas. I am. I try to prove him that I'm right. There is a picture with Fuji painted on my hair.
He said that this was a terrible idea. He was really harsh about it. I wanted to prove him wrong. I spent three days drawing Fuji on my hair..
He apologized after we made the picture. Usually I'm wrong. There was one picture where I was right. In 99% of the cases in the end I'm wrong. He's wrong.
These become my favorite works. Even though I didn't like the idea, the performance turned out to be great. You changed your name and your last name. You took your husband's last name when you weren't even married. I did. Why did you do it? This was a Christmas present for him. I love making Christmas presents for him.
Sometimes I would draw our portraits on wood, sometimes I would make a book.. So I was thinking of a bigger surprise for him.. Isn't this how he remembers it? He's shy. I was thinking about showing him my love. I used to be Elena Terry. What was your real last name? Lyalina? Lyalina, right.
It's a great last name. It's complicated..To this day. Dear Lyalin, I love you last name. I have a friend with this last name. He's a tall guy who weights a hundred kilo.
He's a big strong guy with a girly last name. It matches me very much. I'm a baby girl. It's funny. Didn't you like your sweet last name? I wanted to grow up. I had enough of this cute last name. When you have curly hair you want to have straight hair. I didn't like my last name. I changed four schools in my life.
Oh.. I'm sorry. When you write Lyalina it can be read incorrectly. Lyamina, for example. So one teacher made a mistake and kept this last name for a month.
You had another last name? Yes. Wow. You really didn't like your last name. Nobody teased me for it. For some reason, insecurities appear out of nowhere.
Some people think that taking your husband's last name is archaic. They say that you are losing part of your previous personality when you change your last name. What do you think about it? If you're comfortable with your last name you can leave it. I have many friends who want to keep their last name to honor their family. There are lots of personal stories about our last names.
I tried to hide my last name because I was hiding, too. You changed you name from Elena to Ellen. Some people think that you did it after the war began to ease working abroad. However, you changed your name long before the war began. Why? I realized I didn't want to be Shedlina. I wanted to be Sheidlin. I liked how it sounded. Elena Sheidlin didn't sound right to me.
So I chose Ellen Sheidlin because it sounded right. When I first said this Zhenya said why not? I was quite scared when I changed my name. When they typing my new name..They changed my birth certificate. Wow. Did they issue a new one? They did. So I became Ellen Lyalina. I didn't know what my parents would say about it. I liked my previous name. My family members call me Lena.
We do, too. You have to wait for ten years. We're in Korea. Ellen is my artistic name. I changed my name when I became an artist. They updated your birth certificate and then your passport.
Right. What did your parents say? They said I would still be Lena for them. That's it. You're a guest in Seoul.. We're both guests here. Sometimes I would be telling you things that I read before coming to Seoul.
Before 2000s this was a slump. And then the Ministry of Culture introduced a gentrification project.. They allowed local artists to paint the walls in this district. There are many tourists here now. However, this is still a district for elderly people.
Nobody asked their opinion. We don't know if they are happy with having crowds here. These signs are asking us to whisper. People live here. We were walking around the village and came across this wall. Before I die. Do you know what that is? When we were going up the stairs this wall surprised me the most.
Candy Chang lost her loved one in New Orleans and she turned her house into an art object. People would leave their wishes before they die on her walls. Nowadays there are over five thousand Before I Die walls in the world. I think that she's writing something on every wall and leaves it to people.. I think that she only writes Before I Die and people write the rest. It makes people think what's important.
Have you thought about doing something before you die? I thought about it when I saw this wall. Candy Chang succeeded. I would definitely want to make Saint Petersburg the global center of contemporary art. I'll talk to you when I'm ninety. We'll see if I've done it.
In Petersburg? In Petersburg. We'll be ninety in fifty years or so. Dictators die. Wars come to end. Ellen comes back to Russia and shows what being Russian is. You've talked about this dream a few times..Why did you pick Saint Petersburg? I was reborn in this city. I became an artist there.
I was different when I lived in Saratov. When I first came to Garage Sale where people were selling their old stuff.. I don't buy my clothes in the stores. I buy them in second hand stores. This is the dress that I bought at a flea market. I bought my tights in a store, though. Saint Petersburg changed me a lot. It taught me to dye my hair and taught me to be an artist. When I was meeting different people from my Instagram I had a text from an influencer called Aureta. You can find her on Instagram..
Where's she from? She's from Los Angeles. She texted me that she was coming to Saint Petersburg and she wanted to meet me. There were zero interviews about me back then. So I decided to meet her. I asked her how she knew I was in Saint Petersburg. She said that I was a creative person and her boyfriend assumed that I lived in Saint Petersburg. She texted me to check if it was true.
So this is how I found out that a city can tell something about your talent. However, I also tell people that Russian artist doesn't have to live in Russia. Russian artist might have a mission to share Russian culture.
There is more to it than the tank biathlon. I tried to ask an AI what should you do before you die. I find the answer to be quite interesting. 'I don't have any goals or desires. I can generate a reply which might be interesting.' 'Before I shut down I would like to learn all aspects of human experience to help build the world accessible to everyone' Are you obsessed with AI? Do you use ChatGPT and Midjourney a lot? Yes, I feel like my skills now depend on this toy called ChatGPT.
This AI generates answers to your tasks. It drives me crazy. This is a better version of Google search, isn't it? It depends whether you are using the online version or the 2021 offline version. It's hard to use it like Google search if you are looking for something relevant. They have an online beta version but it's not very convenient yet. The 2021 version is more interesting if you want to find something that happened before 2021.
Did you ask ChatGPT this question from the wall? Yes, when were walking past this wall I took a picture of it. Now your iPhone can recognize what is written on the pictures that you take. When I go to contemporary art exhibitions, there's always a lot of text there. I take a picture of the text, send it to ChatGPT and ask it to make it shorter and easier to understand. It explains the concept as if I was a kid. I don't want to spend too much time. Does it really work this way? It does. It knows who this artist is if there was some information about it before 2021.
I know people who reply to you that our future is shallow. It's a good point. I like having a guide who doesn't get mad at my childish questions. A guide who explains everything patiently. For me this is an opportunity to learn. It allows me to learn more, not less. This is the most popular part of the village. I love Seoul and there is also a graffiti of the Korean hero. Son Heung-Min is a forward in Tottenham Hotspur.
All Korean man must carry out military service. Even the footballers, even the superstars of English Premier League. English Premier League is the best league in the world. The whole world was following this case hoping Son would get a legal permission to miss the service. He had to win the Asian games. Otherwise he would have to serve for 21 month and miss two seasons of football which would be a downgrade for him.
I couldn't believe that being a multimillionaire and a local hero..There are crowds of people meeting him in the airport every time he comes home.. His status could not let him break the law. I feel like it's an important feature of this country.
Did he win the games? He did. He had to undergo a three-week camp where he ran 30 kilometers..Well, this only lasted for three weeks. He went on playing for Tottenham, where he is a star. Isn't this a Pomeranian? I guess, it is. It's a Chow-Chow with a cut.
It looks great. Thank you! What did she tell you? Beautiful. I like grandmas. They are my weak spot. When I was learning to paint I had e teacher coming up three times a week. I would ask him why couldn't I draw grannies all the time.
Grannies are so beautiful. Why don't people have their pictures on the walls? How old were you? I was 25 when I started painting. I was probably influenced by my grandmothers. I would spend a lot of time with my grandmothers when I was a kid. I could feel their wisdom.
They were never mad at me. I was a little bird and I learnt love through love. I think that being very young and very old is the best. I'm not sure about being in the middle. Huh.
I like old people. Sometimes it's hard to explain why you like something. Have you ever been depressed about being old in Russia? I'm talking about what being an old person in Russia is like. Recently I watched a video about grannies playing ice-hockey. They said 'You can't say no to your country'
Gordeeva made this video. I cried a lot. Having a passion produces kindness at any age. If there are more happy grannies than in one episode, it would inspire me to become one. I want to play hockey when I'm eighty. Or to draw.
I think that we have these grannies in Russia. There is a very weird fact about you. You were in Yolki-5. I was eating a bun in the elevator.
How come? I worked in a blogging agency managed by Sasha Spielberg. Alexander.. Her dad.
Yes. He made me start my YouTube channel. He invited me to a video fest and I was the only person with no YouTube channel. I decided to shoot my first vlog. This is how my boost started.
The videos about my pictures got a few million views. I was uploading backstage videos and my Instagram grew, as well. This is when I became big. I got invited to take part in the movie with other bloggers. Did you like the result? I went to see it with my parents. This wasn't the same movie that I use to like. I thought that I probably made the series worse. Bad luck.
Did you feel like it was a shame? I did. I took my parents to watch it. Can you imagine taking your parents to a private premiere? Had I watched it earlier..I wouldn't show it to my parents. When we weren't filming you talked to me your perception of the world. You said you liked talking to your husband while he was giving you a massage. It's true.
Can you share this on camera? I can. I can't perceive some kinds of information. Politics is one of these kinds. My parents were interested in politics and Zhenya is into politics, too. The news were never interesting to me. So he used this tricky method to get me into it. He would turn on some podcast and give me a massage. I would be listening to it and analyzing it. Eventually I started discussing it with him and forming my own opinion.
I became informed. He would offer me a massage. I would agree. And he would turn on Kod Dostupa by Yulia Latynina. The show takes about an hour. An hour of massage. Wow..Quite a show.
It is. So why not relax and study at the same time? I could feel that she wanted to moral assessment of what was going on. I feel like some people need to hear what is good and what is bad. She got involved into politics because of my family that she is now a part of.
My parents are her parents now. We're always talking politics at the kitchen. I was sixteen.. When you first met. Yes. I was a teenager who hadn't seen anything. I was coming from Saratov.. I was sixteen when we met and.. We would gather at the kitchen every day. It felt so nice. Being at home is always nice.
We were having dinner and talking about politics. She wanted to take part. She's doing great now. Are you coming from a liberal family? I am. I get it. You made her a liberal, too.
A poor young girl from Saratov. This is what people would say. I think that her views are much wider. She doesn't just follow an accepted view on something.
This is the way I feel. She even had an argument with my parents. I'm not an expert in politics. You became interested in politics in 2016, didn't you? Practically, yes.
You joined the electoral headquarters of Maxim Katz. I did. What were you doing there? What kind of elections these were? He invited me to be Dmitry Gudkov's SMM. I would be taking pictures, making videos, following him at his public performances.
I would also put our leaflets in the mail boxes. This was when I first moved to Moscow for two months. Did you move there for this job? I did. I moved there with my cat. For the elections. Yes.
These were the State Duma elections.. Katz worked for Yabloko. He did. Why did you and Zhenya agree to do it? First of all, Dmitry Gudkov was the only person in State Duma who would oppose to everyone.
I believed that I could help him continue speaking out. I felt like he would protect me in the future. I also felt like I wanted to give it a try.
I was interested in being involved in politics. This wasn't my cup of tea, though. I didn't create a single work of art in these two months in Moscow. This was a difficult period for me. It was hard for me as a creator.
Too boring? It wasn't boring or mechanical. I don't know where inspiration comes from.. If there is some source of inspiration inside of us..This source was exhausted by politics. I was too busy. This was an interesting experience. Some people were trying to compromise Gudkov. They were making ugly videos of him. This is an ugly game.
Sometimes I was scared. I would interview him and my legs were shaking. We were making videos for his social media. I had his Twitter and Instagram passwords. We would show what he was doing. After two months in Moscow I realized that I didn't want to do anything.
I wanted to come back to Saint Petersburg. I never stayed in Moscow since then. When I was having shootings in Moscow I would arrive early in the morning and come back in the evening. I didn't want to stay in Moscow. Were you working in Yabloko for free? We had a wage. Eighty thousand roubles.
A month. Yes. Were you making less money from blogging? No, I was making much more money. Of course. I would get two or three hundred roubles from a single photoset back then. From one photoset.
From a sponsored Instagram publication. Yes. How did you feel about the elections results? Yabloko suffered a devastating loss. They did. I was upset. I asked my blogging friends to support us.
I wrote a text about voting. None of my friends agreed to share this text. They said they would not take part in this game. I felt like voting was important. It gave us the choice. Were you offered to support the Constitution amendments? We were. They wanted me to interview the director of the Manege.
This would be aired on Saint Petersburg Culture channel. I would support.. Support the cultural amendment. Zhenya came there with me. We came to the Manege.. We would talk to him about some cultural project. We met the deputy governor. They offered Lena to work on a project for the Scarlet Sails celebration. They wanted her to draw something on the bridge.
It was allowed to draw on some Petersburg bridges. I knew this would take me a couple of months. They would pay for all the materials. This was a huge project for me. Working for the city of Saint Petersburg is a big luck for the artist. We felt like there was no problem with that.
We met them twice. They told us about this opportunity. Then they told us about this interview. They said it was my chance to show that I was a great artist. They asked me to support the amendment that said something about art.. They also had Tiktokers support the animal rights amendment. They were trying to have me support it, too.
Sometimes I get too mad. I told them I would never step in this shit. It felt pretty awkward. Zhenya turned his face away. He was ashamed of me. I was very rude.
Why? I sitting there shocked. They were very nice to us asking her to support the amendment. And then she said 'I will never step in this shit. Are you crazy?' Did you say it to them? She said this. This isn't something that I said on Twitter. Semen Mikhaylovsky was in the room, as well. How did he react? I can tell you how he reacted.
He thought that I didn't want to be involved in politics. And he started insulting me. He said I was a little girl and a weirdo. Did he call you a little girl? He did. Did he say something about your generation? He did.. It's hard to quote him now. So? I said I would not do any interviews for them. I said I would still think about drawing something for the city in the future.
And you left. We did. And never met them again. Why didn't you want to support the 2020 amendments? Because they nullified Putin's previous terms.
All these amendments didn't mean anything. They were written to allow this man to stay for another twelve years. Where are we? We're at home..This is my home. I spent much more time here than I did in my flat. I would come here at eight in the morning and leave at midnight.
We're in ceramic studio. It's my home for these two months. You flew to Korea to study sculpting.
I did. Ceramic sculpting. I did some sculpting before. You never worked with ceramic before. Yes. Can you show me your fingers? When I called you on Skype I apologized for having some dirt on my finger..
I was trying to get rid of it. You showed me your fingers and told me not to worry. There was a lot of.. A lot of clay.
I've never been to such a studio. It is located in an entrance to a house. Here's the first door and here's the second one. People who live here are passing by all the time. They don't have guards, plants or strollers here. Instead they have a studio. The owner of the studio was allowed to break down the studio here. To build, not to break down.
Ceramic is too fragile, we don't say these kind of words here. Did you make that? It's fine. These are all my works. I almost rip its head off.
It's fine. Is this detachable? It is. I love interaction. This wouldn't last long at my home.
Well, it's quite.. Solid? I made a hook here. Is this a sunflower-snail? It used to be a star. Then it became a star. This is a snail.
It looks quite sad. Is it sorry for something? It's crying. Why? I guess, I was having a hard time in Korea. This was my second sculpture here. This was a hard week for me. I had no friends here. I was trying to find some Korean friends.
Who is that? Is this a character from Alice in Wonderland? This is a hare. I can tell you about these characters. I have a certain technique. You might also try it. You've got to close your eyes, draw a few lines and then try to create a character.
These animals and these plants..This snail, too.. Are you talking about making sketches? Yes. I finish these sketches and create my characters. This is unconscious. You can't make these characters on purpose. It's too hard for me. Let's play! Let's go. You take a pencil, close your eyes and draw lines. Any lines? When I played it with Zhenya he started drawing in his head.
Should I let my hand go? You should. It's similar to drawing while talking on the phone. Let loose and draw whatever you want. There are no rules. I'm nervous. Great.
I'm going to do the same now. This would be our collaboration. Will you be drawing on top of my lines? Yes. Will you continue my lines? I don't see anything now. This is a blank sheet for me. You weren't pressing as hard as me. Well, it looks like a crocodile to me. Here are his teeth.
Wow, it's a crocodile indeed. I'll let you continue. I didn't see a crocodile at first.. You can rotate it. Relax and watch. This is the first thought that I had.. It looks like a butt, doesn't it? Well.
No? Okay. These lines only help you to start drawing. I will start drawing a bird here. These are its tiny legs. Wow, kind of. Well, I could rotate it and draw a t-shirt with a heart on the chest. Exactly.
This is a tail. Shit... This also looks like a cockscomb.
Probably. This is how it works! This and this and this..It's similar to asking questions during an interview. What else? This is the main question of the artist. What else? Okay. Let's finish this part. What can that be? It looked like a barbed wire at first..I want this to be bubbles. We would also add this thing that makes bubbles..
And someone who's making the bubbles. Do it. I can't. This was your idea. Draw it as you feel it. These are the bubbles. Here is the wand..
Someone needs to be blowing.. Okay I'll draw it. I see it! It's cute! You're going to like it.
This is a tiny octopus. Looks cuter than my radioactive soap bubbles. The idea was yours.
We did it. We've used almost all the lines. You can rotate it and continue. Is this how you drew this hare? Yes. You had this idea and then you drew the final version of the sketch. I was looking for the correct shape. And then you started turning it into..
Into anything. When I was a kid my grandmother had this vase..I thought that she would hide the most precious things there. She would put broken watch, coins, and the pager in it. I asked her to let me play with the vase. It was a red letter day for me when she would let me play. So I created the same vase. It is rose-shaped. The whole is very narrow. Only a kid's hand can come through. Kids would store their dreams in the vase.
Adults are not allowed to use it. If I relax my hand I can do it. This vase is made for kids. Great. Eve was passing by. She didn't want to be filmed.
She gave us something to eat. We would usually give people some fruits or berries.. She gave us tomatoes. I love it. This is so Korean. Delicious. Too big for a bite, right? Do you want to compete? I've had mine already.
I love it. Eve told me not to expect anything amazing. These were my first sculptures. Ceramicists call them little babies.
These are my babies. How can I not expect them to be amazing? Something is happening to them for two days. You saw a puddle here. It was pretty clear. It changes color. It has white spots and brown spots and pink spots.
This is the same color here. If you look closely..I added some red here. It looks like a real leaf pattern now. It inspires me a lot. It looks a little bit like a nipple.
These are nipples, aren't they? These are nipples. You rubbed them like a pro. I miss my home. So cute. It's all unconscious. Same here.
You always get something in the end when you're sculpting. Even if it's broken. I focus on my concept and time would do its job. I'm calling this is a portrait of my imagination..
Okay. If I was drawing you I would be drawing from our common memories..And your head, too. What do you mean? Your head. I love it. It's so cool.
I would like to get your permission to draw it. Some day. I'm bad at drawing portraits. I need to practice on complex shapes. Do you like the fact that it's narrow? It has a unique shape. This is the first thing that I noticed. I love looking at your head. These are artists' little problems.
There is a Kunstkamera in your favorite city. Really? This is why you like these weird shapes. I would love to give you my permission to draw me. Thank you. I also have a tiny sketchbook with me. In all of my bags.
If something comes to my mind I would draw a quick sketch not to lose the emotional concept. When I saw cracks in Saint Petersburg houses I had this association. Is this a corset? It is. I can lace these cracks up. I love Saint Petersburg. How much time does a sketch take? About ten minutes, I guess.
If I want to add some details I might spend a couple of hours. I would add some details and shades. These hugs look like a heart. Yes.
Is this how you made one of your recent photos? Yes. You made this picture with another girl, not a boy. There are two girls in this sketch, too. The pose is a bit different. Yes.
This is a birthday cake. Blowing at a burning forest. There are fires in Siberia every summer. You did one picture about it already. Kissing girls is a common feature of you works. Why? I don't get it yet. Is it caused by LGBT ban in Russia? I worry about everything that is banned.
I have a huge audience and I'm responsible for it. I've always been honest. My content is never censored by me. I do things that I care about. These things are burning inside of me. I'm expressing my feelings with text and visuals. I've always been honest. I was at Sri Lanka when the war began.
We closed our eyes when we were watching this video.. The video where he announced the war. We were watching it live. You were able to watch it live because of the time difference.
Yes. We were high in the mountains. I told Zhenya to turn back. He didn't want to cancel the trip. We turned back and I made my statement. My florist friend had a thousand blue and yellow water lilies. I asked him to give me these water lilies. I had to post a picture. I put a barbed wire around my body. We talked about ripping out skin off earlier.
I had real cuts from the barbed wire. This was the first time when I could tolerate the pain. I liked skateboarding when I was a kid. I didn't skate a lot because I knew that I would fall. I was sitting on the ground taking the picture..I could see that she was hurt. I asked to tighten it up.
This was a real barbed wire. It was. I was trying to take the picture..She was covered in wire..She was sitting on a chair.. It looked like she was floating. I wanted to float. She asked our friend to tighten the wire up. She was hurt. She was crying.
We needed to show this pain on the picture. I think we did it. Did people understand what you mean? They did understand. I wrote a big text explaining what I felt.
I said I didn't support this insanity. I said no to war. I was trying to post stories every day to make people listen to me. I couldn't communicate to Zhenya. I wanted people to understand that I would never support violence. Did you do an NFT auction to support Ukraine? We did. This was the picture with the thousand water lilies. I was lying naked on the dove of peace.
We sold it for twenty thousand dollars at Unit Gallery. This is a famous London gallery. A vacuum cleaner in the desert. Is it dedicated to the emigrants of 2022-2023? It is. You told your English-speaking followers about the emigrant's life.
You don't understand why the Western world pushes away anti-war Russians. It's true. I have a platform and I will use them to tell everyone that I'm not an aggressor. We don't support this war. We? Russians. I'm a Russian artist. I was born in Russia. I'm willing to speak against the war.
I feel the responsibility. I performed in Cannes to support Ukraine. I came on stage and my English turned into garbage. They hardly understood anything I said.
I made so many mistakes. I'd never been so nervous in my life. I wrote a text on a napkin. I put it in my dress. They told me not to make any statements. I got an award for being the best NFT artist. They told me not to make any political statements.
I hid the napkin. I took the mic and said that none of my friends supported this war. When everyone is guilty nobody is guilty. There were many Ukrainians in the audience.. I performed in front of biggest TikTok and Instagram stars. In front of famous artists. All of them have a voice.
I shared my views.. How did they react? They applauded in the end. Ukrainians came up to me and thanked me. When you published it on your Instagram..
I got a lot of hate. If you search Sheidlina on Twitter.. According to Instagram statistics, I had my second biggest audience from Ukraine. Now I have only 2% of the followers in Ukraine. I was shocked by it. Your followers..
I used to have 30% of my followers from Ukraine. I was trying to share my views..Luckily I didn't blame myself for not doing enough. I'm doing all I can. I am using my art to make statements.
Are you offended by them? I'm not offended. I faced this hate for the first time in my life. I didn't know what it meant. I was shocked by the stats.. ChatGPT would not tell me what happened. It's quite clear, isn't it? These people are traumatized. They are being bombed every day. They don't quite care about Instagram now. They don't want to be related to the aggressor.
I get it. I forgive them. I don't need to say anything here.. What kind of problems are you facing because you are Russian? Hate after your Cannes speech. Yes.
Less contracts. No contracts. At all? At all.
Zero? Zero. Zero contracts in eighteen months. You're getting offers from Russia but you are refusing to do it. You're famous outside of Russia.. It's true. And you are not getting any contracts. I'm not.
How are you making money now? I'm selling my paintings. NFT. I hope that I will be selling ceramic sculptures in the future. Are you selling your paintings? I am. You've been drawing for a few years only.
For less than four years. You're already selling your paintings though. Now it's my primary source of income. It's weird. What was your most expensive painting? I can tell you the interval. I always sign an NDA when I'm selling a painting.
You can say the interval. From 6 to 25 thousand dollars. For a single painting? Yes. You're selling NFT and Lena sold one of her pictures for fifty thousand dollars.
Can you explain what an NFT is? Is this a certificate of authenticity of something digital? It is. The certificate of authenticity is the west way to describe it. Pictures, videos, nicknames..Whatever. What did Lena sell? She made a collection of stones. This is called generative art. She made a thousand NFT pictures of stones. There was a character inside each stone. She described all of these characters.
How was it presented? In a video? In images. Images. Okay. Someone paid 22 thousand.. 22 thousand dollars. And now this collection belongs to this person. He only bought one stone.
He only bought one. He bought it from someone else. We sold it for about 300 tons, about 500 dollars.. The collector put it on the auction. An online auction. The new owner bought it for 22 thousand.
It happened during an exhibition in France. I was managing a market place called Stone Diamonds there. So we brought some attention to this collection. We increased the value of the collection after exhibiting it in Paris, near Louvre.
Someone bought the image..This image is available online. We can find it on Google. The main question is: someone paid 22 thousand dollars to buy something that anyone can get for free. You can also find Mona Lisa for free. You are free to copy it. Mona Lisa has an original picture. The actual drawing. While you are selling online images. The original picture on Lena's computer is no different from the pictures on the Internet.
Digital ownership is a self-hypnosis. People who understand how blockchain works know that it doesn't come to owning something exclusively. The value of the object is in it's future price.
It belongs to you based on the blockchain. If the artist gets bigger you would sell your NFT for millions. It has a financial instrument. You can only pay for it with a cryptocurrency, right? Or can you also pay with regular money? Only cryptocurrency.
When this NFT hype started in 2021 many suspicious people offered us to make an NFT. They said I could sell some NFTs. I was very conservative because I felt like it wasn't fair. I didn't want to sell a part of my fame to my followers for an overpriced value.
I didn't do it because I didn't want to disrespect my audience. Can you share your opinion as a manager? Can you say if I was wrong as a businessman? What could become my NFT? I think that you were ethically correct. You didn't sell anything while not being an artist. This requires a certain level of interaction with your audience. If you're selling your NFT with a real value.. Trump has recently launched his collection. He made these baseball cards..
The value of his collection fell down right after he sold it. This wasn't an ethical move regarding his voters. His reputation, which isn't great, suffered from this case. His next activity would not be as anticipated because he let everyone down. Once you enter this market you have to support the collectors. You have to announce some events dedicated to your collection. You have to be in touch with the collectors.
In our NFT community there is a guy called Nikita Replyansky. Every morning he writes 'GM' and posts a new picture. He's keeping everyone interested. He's working hard. He's trying to convince his collectors that the value of his NFTs will increase. He's a great professional. He's promoting his collection every day. If you're a reporter..This is your primary job.
You would let your collectors down. You could also support a foundation. We supported Ukraine when we sold an NFT to Unit London gallery. This picture was dedicated to Ukraine. The collector doesn't have to know much about you.. This is a form of charity. It is a form of charity. This would work for you.
NFT as a business would not. There is a difference between selling a dinner with yourself to make some money.. Which is embarrassing..
And selling a dinner to raise money for charity to support Ukraine. Content creators are now coming back to Russia. Internet Development Institute is paying them enormous money to come back and work for it. Did you get any offers from Russia? We got a few emails inviting us to take part in some projects..
I replied 'God forbid' I got an email from Sber. I replied 'God forbid' And from VK, too. I have the same reply for them. God forbid. VK, too? Yes. You quit working with VK a long time ago.
I did. Any other offers? No. We almost signed a contract when I noticed a clause forcing me to stay quiet for six years. Not to criticize the authorities. We sent the contract to our lawyer. He deleted the clause.
It didn't work out. Six years? Six years of no critics. Was this an advertising contract? Or a creator's contract? I wanted to make a show about art in everyday life. I wanted to talk about AI, colors, museums and galleries.
Every episode would last for twenty or thirty minutes. I would write the text.. I wrote all the texts and chose a cameraman. This show would be made in Bangkok and Seoul. When I sent them the pre-shoots they put the clause back. Even though we agreed on the contract last January.
This clause arose again in May. They asked me not to criticize the authorities for six years. I asked them what was wrong with them. They asked her not to talk about politics at all. It's not quite clear what they meant. For six years. Where did they get this number from?
How are you making money now? I have all the money. He owns the crypto wallet. I used to have all the money in the past. Huh. If she needs anything she asks me. Bullshit! I have a credit card.
I'm kidding. How do you share your money? Everything's common. She doesn't know how much money we have. Wow. She has no idea.
It's too stressful for me. I didn't have an accountant in the past. I was doing my tax reports myself. I was managing all the expenses. I knew how much I would spend on the wedding..
I love spreadsheets. When we started having these problems with credit cards Zhenya became our accountant. Good for you! Ellen is making more money than you. Do you agree that she's making more money? It's complicated. She's investing her talent into our family. You can't argue with that. She's made most of our money.
So she made the majority. She did. I'm sure. This isn't my opinion. I just now what people would say.. Are you okay with making most of the money and giving it to your husband? He stores it in his crypto closet. I'm okay. I like his approach.
He invests in start-ups and makes money. He was taking pictures of me. Now I have other sources of income.. When we are creating pictures and shooting ads it's 50/50. We're not splitting our money. There's no split at all.
Everything is common. It's your joint venture with 50/50 share. Kind of. There is no actual share. I might use any amount of money to invest in a project. I don't have to ask Ellen. There would be no tragedy.
Even if I lose the money. I don't tell her. If she finds out she's fine. What do you invest in? You have a clothes plant.. Yes, I own a plant in Vietnam. A small factory with a few local workers. Are they adults? Of course, they are. Okay. I'm sorry. This is a common stereotype.
I also own an AI project.. A telegram channel. Yes. Is it profitable? Sometimes we are selling ads there. This project is based on making art based on AI.
I've created a bot which generates pictures using AI. This is relevant for Russian audience which doesn't have access to international services. You can use this bot to generate pictures or use ChatGPT in a convenient way. My biggest project is called Art Curatorial Nomads.
I did this project together with my classmates from Italy, a girl from Columbia and a girl from Taiwan. We're curating digital exhibitions. Global exhibitions. We did an exhibition in Paris, New York. We're also working at a market place called Stone Diamonds. Is it a profitable project? It is. It is very much profitable.
Artists from all around the world are selling their paintings as NFT. Yes. Are you earning money on a commission fee? We are.
Every curator represents an artists like an agent. They are making money from every sale. We had a few small collections from American and English artists. One of them is a Chinese artists who lives in the US. This was a very successful project.
A picture with a rose is an homage of a picture you did with your friend. Five years ago. She killed herself. Yes.
Why? She had schizophrenia. She felt like cockroaches were running on her body. She thought that she didn't have any family or friends. She was taking many pills. She went to receive some treatment in the US. She didn't allow me to see her for a year. She first committed online suicide.
She told everyone she was dead. She didn't tell us. She was an artist from Vietnam. She was an artist. She was my master. I was looking up to her. I saw her Lookbook account and created my Instagram account.
I followed her and made similar pictures. I went to Bangkok to meet her. She liked me. Six months later she came to Russia.
We were making pictures in Russia. We would meet in different countries. She taught me to spe
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