Ksenia, hello! Tell us what place painting occupies in your life. Is it your professional specialization or a hobby?
I have been drawing since childhood. By education I am an artist–designer; behind me are academic art school and many years of work in graphic design.
“I searched for a source of inspiration for a long time and found it in sport.”
How did your passion for painting begin?
At the age of eight I saw drawings by a friend who studied at an art school and immediately understood that it was mine. I took my mother by the hand and insisted on being signed up for the entrance exam. Visual art is my profession and my life.
Do you stay within thematic limits when creating works, or do you draw on different subjects?
I try to bring together my knowledge and experience in graphic design and academic drawing. During my studies there was no concept of digital illustration; our professional education didn’t imply a combinatorial approach. Either you drew from life, or, somewhere at home, you drew for yourself. I wanted to master the profession beyond the circumstances on offer. Drawing on abstract topics wasn’t interesting for me; academic drawing from life was a stage I had already passed.
I searched for a source of inspiration for a long time and found it in sport.
When did your love for rhythmic gymnastics arise?
In a layperson’s mistaken view, gymnastics is roughly the same dance with apparatus to familiar classical music. But in 2009 I chanced upon a recording of Evgeniya Kanayeva’s Olympic ribbon routine set to the song “Moscow Nights” in an orchestral arrangement. The musical choice for an Olympic performance intrigued me. The image—from the starting pose to the color of the ribbon—had been thought through in detail, and the gymnast’s movements were calibrated to the music.
As a professional in visual art it became obvious to me that the spectacle presented was not simple luck or a set of random movements, but the result of high‑class work by people endowed with talent and taste. This discovery caught my attention; I reviewed recordings of other athletes, even found forums with archive videos. A year later I saw Daria Dmitrieva and her championship ribbon routine to Alfred Schnittke’s composition “Flight.”
For Dasha I attended my first Gazprom Cup in 2011. Since then I’ve gone every year.
What are the advantages of this particular sport?
I like that gymnastics combines several equally important components: the music, interaction with the apparatus, the amplitude of the elements performed, the beauty of the human body, a thoughtfully chosen costume in harmony with the apparatus, and, of course, the battle for the podium! And above all, the plasticity of movement to music with apparatus can be presented in hundreds of variants, for any viewer.
Where does the inspiration of gymnastics draw its strength from?
From beauty and sincerity. If a gymnast performs her routine from the heart, consciously, it resonates with the viewer. People want to discuss what they’ve seen, to understand the nature of a phenomenon that makes them empathize with the athlete as if she were a close friend. Debates about beauty among fans can go very far. Emotions are stoked by the fact that, in the end, this is sport, and the final outcome is a place on the podium—or outside it.
All of these debates and emotions are sufficient stimulus for a creative person to take a brush, a microphone, or a camera and say by the means available to them: here is my star, and she is the very best.
Tell us more about your ‘Strekosa Design’ project.
StreKosA are my initials. In my second year there was an assignment to make one’s own ex libris (a label with the owner’s name pasted into a book). I encrypted my initials in that word. Since then I’ve been putting it not on books but on my works. At first I invested in the drawings nothing more than my love for gymnastics. But over time my activity was noticed by people directly connected with the sport; they asked me to draw something individual, and commercial proposals appeared.
Do you create works on the theme of other sports/arts?
I want to continue developing in this direction. Perhaps I’ll try more “masculine” sports. Sport has gained unprecedented popularity; there are a great many accessible sources of information from which to draw inspiration.
“The story of a person in sport is an inexhaustible source of ideas and plots…”
How do you choose photographs that become the basis for your works?
Photography, like drawing, is a consequence of what happens on the carpet. I experience a routine as a single event in which the athlete, apparatus, and music interact; no less important are makeup and costume. If the performance and the assembled image don’t catch me, there will most likely be no drawing. I watch recordings or live broadcasts and take note of interesting performers. I’m lucky — in our time photographic technology is progressing very quickly; there is plenty of visual material.
I analyze the mechanics conveyed in the photograph, add my impressions from the routine, and come up with plots.
Do you create only when inspiration strikes, or with experience does the need for it disappear?
I try to draw every day, time permitting. Since I discovered sport, the inspiration has not faded — on the contrary, I don’t manage to do everything I’ve planned. The story of a person in sport is an inexhaustible source of ideas and plots that not only artists turn to. The highest‑grossing films being made in Russia today are sports films, because the story of overcoming oneself and circumstances at any level is close and understandable to every person.
Do you have a favorite gymnast? What are her features from an artist’s point of view?
My number one has been and remains Margarita Mamun — a unique phenomenon in the world of gymnastics and in the world of sport in general. My creative work began with Margarita’s performance at the “Champions Cup — Gazprom” in 2013. What I saw on the carpet of the Druzhba arena defied verbal explanation; I saw more than beauty, more than harmony. I witnessed a demonstration of the performer’s extraordinary talent multiplied many times over by the choreographer.
The impression I experienced needed deep reflection — a physical expression of what I had seen. I picked up my pencils and, for six years now, I haven’t been able to stop.
In your view, what sets Russian gymnasts apart from representatives of other countries?
As a fan I’m pleased to note the main difference of our national team — the variety of bright talents, for any taste and any requirements. There is no frozen standard in Russia that must be copied. From the youngest groups to the “golden trio,” we have no identical athletes. Even the Averina sisters perform programs tailored very individually. Every school strives to demonstrate its recognizable style, adapted to a specific gymnast.
When Rita Mamun and Yana Kudryavtseva were performing, this principle was reflected most vividly — each embodied her coach’s vision; the difference in styles enhanced the favorable impression of each performance.
What allows us to call gymnastics ‘artistic’?
For me personally, artistic gymnastics is movement that comes from the heart. The idea invested in a routine by the coach, comprehended and developed by the athlete, and then caught and experienced by the viewer — this is the very “artistic” seed that falls into the fan’s heart, making them cry or dance, and sometimes do both at once when they see the score.
“I want to give feedback, to show that this work was appreciated by the viewer.”
What is the most difficult thing for you when creating works on the theme of gymnastics?
Sports illustration has become my second profession, which means repeating the same thing is unacceptable. I try to master new techniques and look to illustrators from different countries. Besides, gymnastics has changed a lot over the last two or three years; completely different benchmarks and new names have appeared. Life doesn’t stand still; changing the angle of view, learning and understanding something new — that is the hardest, but also the most interesting, part.
What do you see as the goal of your creativity connected with gymnastics?
My work is based on observing the accomplishments of people who are often unfamiliar to me; their achievements motivate and inspire me. When I watch recordings of performances, I ask myself: “How do they do that?!” Our children, coaches, and parents do colossal work on the path of improvement in order to amaze the audience and win over the judges. It may sound naive, but I want to give feedback — to show that this work was appreciated by the viewer.
Wish our young gymnasts something truly creative!
In creativity, as in any other field, it is important to find your own path — to hear the voice of your soul. I wish each of you to learn to listen to yourself and never stop working on yourself in the direction you have chosen. And your fans will certainly support you.
