Annya Sand | Artist
Could you comment about 'being a creative soul' and does travel facilitate your ideas?
Having grown up in a creative environment during my childhood and having practised art all of my adult life, art and culture have inevitably become a part of my DNA. I love travelling, I am always creating something while travelling, even if it is not a painting. I love meeting new people from different backgrounds and observing their interactions.
Your favourite place in Kazakistan? How do you stay connected to your culture while being in London?
Almaty, my hometown is by far my favourite place in Kazakhstan. On my every visit back to Almaty I do try to go to the mountains and enjoy every moment of it. Even the air is very different there.
Follow Annya’s works here
“The vibrant and diverse world of social media allowed everyone to share ideas and images, and co-create. Constant interactivity and access to information created a new way of existence, where anyone can find, proclaim and show anything. ”
Annya Sand is a contemporary artist known for her signature abstract art in mediums of oil and installation art. We met with her at her London studio speaking about her artistic journey and viewpoints on intercultural identity.
Tell me about how your creative journey started. Did you have creative influences growing up? What education/ training did you receive?
I am a third-generation self-taught artist and began painting in oils at a very young age at my father’s studio, who was a jeweller in Kazakhstan, my home country. I continued in this vein for most of my adult life, but in the past several years I studied mixed media – primarily installations and staged photography. I wanted to create art that was global in both size and artistic vision, keeping in mind it’s social impact.
What has been the source of inspiration for you( people, travel, places, cultures etc)? How has your cross-cultural identity influenced what you do now?
A myriad of factors have forged the woman and artist that I am. My past and present, my diverse ethnic heritage, and my good fortune to have had the chance to travel the world thatimpacted and created my current artistic vision and philosophy.
What role does digital media play in your works?
Social media offers an easy way for anyone to showcase oneself to the world, find inspiration and market and sell one’s work. As social media blurred the borders and united people internationally, art became interactive. The vibrant and diverse world of social media allowed everyone to share ideas and images, and co-create. Constant interactivity and access to information created a new way of existence, where anyone can find, proclaim and show anything. These days, artists and designers can preview hundreds and thousands of ideas and styles in limited time and with little effort. And they can effortlessly communicate to their collaborators and fans around the world. Social media is widely credited with boosting artists’ creativity and fuelling their talent.
But there is another side to this world – the one that can leave an artist too exposed to criticism, judgement and blunt copying of his or her work. More and more people start blaming social media for over-exposure, ideas theft and increased social negativity. Some artists find that social media limits their ability to create new ideas because the ‘shares’, ‘likes’, and ‘comments’ distract them from the real creative process. More and more people call for a balanced use of social media websites. And when it comes to original art online, there is a fine line between using someone’s work as an inspiration and stealing one’s ideas.
Nowadays, most social networks allow users to upload artwork without any restrictions on the quality and ownership of the original artwork. Re-posting and re-blogging images are done without any thought to the legal implications of taking someone’s work without permission and sharing it with others. Every time I upload some of my works online I question whether my idea behind this work could be stolen.