May You Live in Interesting Times series, fig. 9 on Johannes Vermeer, 2023
Dr Natalia Jezova is an awards wining, multidisciplinary artist. She achieved her Professional Doctorate in Fine Art at the University of East London in 2021.
Natalia communicates through a wide variety of media, including film, photography and installation. Her art, which has been exhibited internationally, addresses cultural memory, identity and gender issues.
A few years ago Natalia’s vision had started to drastically deteriorate. She can now only see the blurry silhouettes with the double vision effect. This was one of the reasons why she started to use the superimposition technique (in which two images are simultaneously visible over each other) in her art practice. The concept of juxtaposition creates thought-provoking metaphors for the viewer to react to. By linking one image with another, a resulting third meaning is ultimately conceived, metaphorically. This third metaphorical meaning acts as a device that allows the viewer to choose new conclusions.
Natalia's work is never quite what first appears to be. Her images depict meticulously controlled compositions characterised by a classical aesthetic, tinged with poetic undertones of timeless desire and romantic. Natalia's works immersive narrative scenarios that blur the lines between imagination, reality and memory. She mixes classical and modern aspects and her artworks are multi-layered, containing their own little secrets that viewers are invited to discover. As Natalia says: “What could be more enchanting than a mystery? I suppose, only the love for the mystery and the quest which one embarks on in trying to solve it.”