Russian born, Australia based still life photographer, Anna Pogossova sent us a taste of her work the other day and left us hungry for more. Browsing through her entire portfolio we discovered so much cool work that was just had to reconnect with her to ask a few questions.
TL: You have a very distinct style and even palette, how did you come to develop your work in this way?
AP: I was painting at first, and dabbling in graphic design. I later went on to study Fine Art at university, whilst earning a living as a commercial retouch artist. I was particularly interested in Surrealism, Old Masters paintings, installation, contemporary photography and psychoanalysis.
I think my style was born out of the intersection of all those elements; fine art conventions and emerging technologies.
I like to alternate between a palette of soft painterly pastels, and bright synthetic colors, which I associate with pop culture and fashion. I think both are hyper real in their own way, and allow me to create strange, enhanced versions of ordinary objects.
TL: Do you use Photoshop/Illustrator to manipulate your images?
AP: Yes, I use a really wide range of techniques, both analogue and digital; painting, illustration, vector, and a combination of real life objects and ones I have constructed in Photoshop or modeled in 3D software.
I find, that it’s often the images, which appear to be digitally rendered, that are actually shot on film and vice versa. I really enjoy playing around with hyper reality and perception.
TL: What are your favorite types of subjects?
AP: I love prisms, and anything geometric. I often photograph model-making miniatures, which remind me of Renaissance paintings or classical architecture.
I am also really drawn to things, which are uncanny, which ooze, which are feminine or sexually charged, particularly ones associated with sea life.
TL: How would you describe your style?
AP: Hmm….’Pop Surrealism’ maybe.
TL: Can you describe your process?
AP: I usually spend some time sourcing, making and styling props, and stockpiling background images, which I’ve shot on film. Some of these elements are then composited in Photoshop along with illustrations or 3D modelling.
I think of the process as constructing a hypothetical mythology for any given object.
see more from Anna Pogossova here
