Anastasia Potekhina ARPS

About my Distinction

Oh, it was an exciting day! My panel was assessed positively and now I am a proud ARPS! During the assessment I received very good feedback, which was constructive and helpful. I had been nervous beforehand because, in our creativity, we are always very vulnerable, so it was very important for me that the members of the assessment panel understood and appreciated my selection and my ideas. And they did! This experience has motivated me to keep experimenting and to continue developing my creativity. Thank you!

Distinction was obtained on: 18 OCTOBER 2023

Statement of Intent

— But, said Alice, if the world has absolutely no sense, who's stopping us from inventing one? — Lewis Carroll.

Each artist begins to learn about the world through himself. Wanting to preserve my individuality, in my self-portraits I find reflection as a search for a hidden inner "I" in various forms and environments. The main thing is to find harmony. And harmony is consonance, the connection of the inner world with the outer. So, in my chosen photographs, I grow into the environment in order to find my place, in the new reality that I have created myself.

It has been said that it is impossible to fully comprehend the nature of reality while being a part of reality itself. I think that every artist, drawing on his own creativity, sort of leaves reality to look at the world from the outside. So, my self-portraits help me to log out of reality to look at my world with a more independent, objective eye.

All my photos are inspired by the moment and taken spontaneously in one shot. I'm interested in creating the impression of a layered composition. This is achieved through a fleeting combination of momentarily available reflections or shadows, which I am inspired to capture. In this I am particularly careful to ensure that my own image becomes an integrated part of the whole composition and does not dominate as in the popular medium of the “selfie”. I become an integral part of the world I have invented.