Tuesday 18 March 2014

Natalya Lobanova - Happy 2 B Sad


Natalya Lobanova describes her work as “mostly doodles on pastel paper”, and while that is without doubt very accurate, there is a little more to it. Born in Kazakhstan, she grew up in London and moved to Edinburgh in 2011 to study Philosophy and Politics. Lobanova draws - she draws everyday situations, she doodles imaginary scenarios and illustrates thoughts, and she is excellent at what she does. It didn’t take the blogosphere long to catch wind of her artwork once Lobanova began posting her art online. She then started her art project, the blog happy 2 b sad, in 2011; a collection of her work, it features mostly pen on characteristically pink paper.

Before coming to Edinburgh, Lobanova did an art foundation at Central Saint Martins in London, specialising in painting. Are there certain advantages to being an artist who does not study art anymore? “A degree in art essentially buys you the time to do nothing but art, which is actually a huge privilege and amazing thing to do”, she says. ”It also buys you the opportunity to surround yourself with amazing, creative people. But in my experience, it can also be a bubble and you forget that the outside world exists. On a personal level, I think it was very good for me to attend an academic University and be a little outside of my comfort zone and study things that I don't feel I naturally excel at.” Lobanova adds: “Also, I don’t have to deal with crits or having to explain why I chose pink paper to do my drawings on. It was the only paper I had at the time, okay?” 

Yet, balancing art and academia can be challenging at times: “I'm really lucky to have been able to keep the ball rolling whilst doing this degree because even when you find the time to make art formally, once you're out of the habit it just sort of slips out of your life, even if you're a naturally creative person. Your creative energy is used up in different ways.” Has her degree in Philosophy and Politics influenced her art? “I don't feel that it's explicitly influenced my art”, Lobanova says, “I don't actively try and keep my degree and my artwork separate but I wouldn't want my work to have too many inaccessible obscure academic themes. I don't want to alienate people.” Her work is witty, it is pretty, and it does not pretend to be something it’s not – it is easily accessible; it’s user-friendly, and proudly so. And whether she lives in London or Edinburgh, “every place is a good place to make art”, Lobanova says.

Lobanova’s first exhibition, a solo-exhibition, took place at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, US, last fall. Her second exhibition just started in Tampico, Mexico, sending happy 2 b sad on a physical journey around the globe following the virtual one. Does she have any concrete plans for where she would like the future to take her? “You can't really plan an artistic career, you just do all you can and hope for the best. I've been really lucky. My plan is to just do as much as I can”, Lobanova says.

Talking about the creative process, she explains: “Sometimes I crawl out of bed in the middle of the night to jot something down and other times I just sit down and decide to make some art. I wouldn't say either process is better than the other, I just do whatever”, and she adds, “That’s a technical term”. Introspection or interaction, which inspires her most? “I think my drawings are the wittiest fragments of my inner monologue, so I suppose it's both”, Lobanova explains.

The Internet has undoubtedly played a big part for her art – how does she see its role in the art world? Lobanova says, “I think it's amazing because in some ways it's socialised the art industry - you don't necessarily need to know anyone to enter it and to gain momentum. It's made it more accessible. I think if it were not for the Internet, I would feel entirely disassociated with the art world”. Yet, at the same time, “this constant source of information and stream of images and super quick moving 'trends' in art can distract people from making artwork that it genuine to themselves”.

Does she have any advice for anyone who would like to express themselves visually, but who has never experimented with art before? “You have nothing to lose by trying”, Lobanova says. “If you do it and it's rubbish then no one needs to see it”, and she adds: “Or maybe you're just really ahead of your time and your work will be rediscovered posthumously and that will be your legacy.”

Find Natalya's work at happy2bsad.com.

Originally written for The Student.

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