WHO IS IRINA SHKAP?
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NOT IRINA SHAYK.
I have always followed a path toward creativity, beginning my studies at the Amedeo Modigliani Art High School in Padua, Italy.
From adolescence, I felt the desire to express myself through images,whether simply on social media or by creating ever-changing looks that told “stories.” I remember spending endless hours putting together outfits, hairstyles, and makeup, which I have always been deeply passionate about, harmonizing them in a way that revealed the part of myself I wanted to bring out at that moment. It wasn’t just about dressing to follow fashion or trends, but about storytelling an authentic narrative of who I was, of my feelings and emotions, sometimes to bring them to light, other times to conceal them.
This same pattern continues today in what I create; speaking about deep, intimate matters or contemporary issues infuses the project with that aura Walter Benjamin describes in his book The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.
I am convinced that the aura Benjamin speaks of is what makes the difference in the eyes of the viewer. The more you pour yourself into something, your feelings, your story, something deeply personal, the more the spectator becomes involved.
I believe images are the most powerful form of communication because they act immediately on the perception of any individual, adult or child, young or old, wealthy or poor.
Through images, each of us receives stimuli that reach deep within, allowing us to elevate the discourse, to address current issues, to help those who feel alone in facing certain difficulties, and sometimes even to strip society and its mechanisms bare.
What pushed me to embark on this creative path was precisely the need to “speak” through a non-verbal form of communication, leaving room for a freer interpretation by the audience.