Yulia Belasla

Artist’s Statement

In my practice, I work with painting, exploring themes of love, human relationships, Slavic traditions and physicality of the information world. I work in traditional techniques, using oil, acrylic, watercolor, and golden foil. The inner volume of the paintings is achieved only by the contrast of cold and warm color palettes. Otherwise, I avoid feeling the depth of space, turning the composition to ornamental correspondence or icon painting practice. The symbolic structure of objects and characters and the addition of decorative elements to the space is a reference to ancient cultural codes and sign systems. The two main genres of my works are subject painting and portraits.

I combine mythology, legends and assemble them into an anthropomorphic image. It is read through signs sewn into the perceptions of each person. In my opinion, emotions are the brightest color of the universe, a universal language understood by everyone. I have always been interested in how people are emotionally connected to each other. The interaction of these connections forms my approach to developing themes within paintings.