Interview with artist Efimova Julia

Hello, Julia. You are from an arty family. Have you ever had any doubts about which path to choose for yourself?
 
My dad passed away when I was 9. His artistic path was not at all easy - on the contrary, it warned me against going down the same road. All my life I tried not to become an artist. At first, I took up music, then started writing prose, then began to draw, but ultimately decided that getting a degree in industrial design would make my life easier. In short, this is what happened. But you can't escape who you are, and even though I organized my life through a related, applied profession, I still became an artist.
 
Were there people who greatly influenced your creativity and eventually brought you to the point where you are now? And now, what do you think, how important is the role of a mentor in the development of a young artist?
 
I have never followed, copied, or presented someone else's experience, ways of expression, and vision as my own. I am supported by people who believe in me and it has been this way throughout my life, from the nascent stages to this very day. These people could be anyone: teachers who taught me throughout my life, friends, and even passers-by. I draw inspiration from different people, from my relationships with them.
 

At the last exhibition Triumph of a Portrait at the Haze Gallery, you were presenting a series of your Vogue Covers. What prompted you to create this series?
 
I present the Vogue cover series as a kind of manifesto. The cover here acts as a symbol, a marker of success, as a certain standard of quality. I wanted to put people who are close to me in spirit and outlook on the front cover. They can be famous or unknown, they can have different occupations, nationalities, lifestyles, the way of live, but they have one thing in common - they are symbols of an era for me. This is a kind of metaphorical dialogue I have with society.
 
And in connection with the previous question: with what form, what direction of art are you most comfortable working with?
 
The directions I studied and applied changed throughout my life. Early on I was interested in geometry, how shadows interact with surfaces, the deep stylization of objects up to their abstract forms. Now I am more interested in creating portraits, studying people through the prism of time, their psychology an
 

Where is the borderline between creativity and work for you? Or is there no border?
 
The difference is clear to me. Work is something that earns me money, there is a customer and an outline of what he wants - due to this only being an outline, I feel relatively free and independent in my work. If creativity brings money then that’s grand, if not then, at the moment, it does not affect my standard of living.
 
And the last question: what would you advise yourself at the beginning of your creative path? With the experience that you have now
 
I would advise myself to move faster up my career ladder, to hurry to live, and not to spend so much time and energy on romantic relationships. On the other hand, though, there is no way of knowing what could have been - perhaps, it is my unique experience that shaped me and made me who I am now