Interview with Aliaksandra Markava
- Cista Arts team
- Sep 8
- 4 min read
An interview with multidisciplinary artist Aliaksandra Markava.
What initially sparked your interest in pursuing art, and how has your journey evolved since then?
I've enjoyed drawing since I was a child, for as long as I can remember. My mother brought me to art school to encourage my interest in art. The teachers I was fortunate to learn drawing from were very patient, talented, and erudite. In addition to creative pursuits, I have always enjoyed art history. I still adore art museums and love seeing the originals of famous works, which I studied as a child from books with reproductions. My favourite artists were, and still are, Jan Vermeer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Katsushika Hokusai.
In my youth, I was drawn to sculpture and later to cinema. I tried my hand at several activities, took breaks, but always returned to art. For me, this is a path I cannot turn away from. Now I understand that art is not just a profession, but a part of who I am.
In addition to creative pursuits, I have always enjoyed art history. I still adore art museums and love seeing the originals of famous works, which I studied as a child from books with reproductions.
Can you tell us about a specific piece of your artwork that holds particular significance to you, and what inspired its creation?
In art school, I learned about the doodling technique, which I really enjoyed at the time. Later, I adapted classic black-and-white doodling into my own free style, which I enjoy experimenting with. It becomes particularly interesting when applied to specific subjects. This form helps me express deep emotions and perceptions more easily and quickly than traditional imagery. This is how the series “Fairy Tales” was born. The series is ongoing, although it already includes a dozen works. One of my favourites is “Bluebeard”, a tale that has always seemed frightening. I believe art and literature cannot exist without exploring complex, sometimes painful social themes.
I love working with black ink for its capriciousness, sophistication, sharpness, and unpredictability. At the same time, I enjoy vivid colours and shades. Pastels, for example, are an ideal medium for me because they are colourful and allow me to explore nuances in seemingly simple things — colour combinations, contrasts, shapes, and textures. Beauty is in the little things. This is why I have always appreciated subject painting and composition. I find beauty and harmony even in the pile of firewood in the backyard. The pile makes sense — the firewood will keep you warm in winter. I tried to capture and convey the textures of the bark and wood, and their warm contrast with wet gravel after rain, using oil pastels in the study “Firewood.”
How do you navigate the balance between staying true to your artistic vision and experimenting with new techniques or styles?
I am very close to the philosophy of wabi-sabi, where the simple and imperfect are valued. I try to make my paintings help viewers slow down, relax, and find inner support. The mood or tasks I set for myself at a particular moment influence the creative process. If something doesn’t work out, I put it aside and start another project. Otherwise, if I get stuck, nothing worthwhile emerges. Sometimes I just like to relax and play with abstract associations to see what happens.
I try to make my paintings help viewers slow down, relax, and find inner support. The mood or tasks I set for myself at a particular moment influence the creative process.
What role do you believe art plays in society, and how do you envision your work contributing to the artistic dialogue?
Art has always been of great importance: it preserves history, develops thinking, educates taste, and even heals. We still study ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, often through art. In fact, it is a universal language through which people from different cultures can exchange experiences, meanings, and emotions in their own unique ways.
I believe art plays a vital social role — it can foster a more attentive and considerate attitude toward the world around us. Through my work, I try to remind people of the value of life, its fragility, and its beauty. My work is not just about aesthetics but also an invitation to feel harmony, perceive depth in simplicity, and find inner silence. Perhaps art can still preserve humanity within a person.
My work is not just about aesthetics but also an invitation to feel harmony, perceive depth in simplicity, and find inner silence. Perhaps art can still preserve humanity within a person.
Are there any upcoming projects or themes that you're excited to explore in your future artworks, and if so, what draws you to these ideas?
Traditionally, I have been drawn to themes from fiction, mythology, philosophy, psychology, ecology, and nature. In the future, I would like to create a series of portraits, both in classical and experimental styles. Perhaps I will also create a series about pets, which are very direct and engaging, and enjoyable to observe. I also want to devote more attention to video art, which offers a particularly rich field for experimentation and creative freedom. Ideas always come unexpectedly; anything can inspire me. Nature, beauty, symbolic objects, and fleeting moments are always nearby.
How do you hope your art will impact viewers, and what message or emotion do you aspire to convey through your creative expressions?
The concept of environmental awareness is important to me in every sense — caring for nature, as well as fostering a person’s inner balance, self-reflection, and ability to create rather than destroy.
Through my work, I aim to convey depth, contemplation, transience, and fragility of being, as well as associations, and metaphors, often through landscapes and depictions of nature. In this way, my works become part of a dialogue about what truly matters today: caring for the world around us and for our inner world.
Comments