Since childhood, I was fascinated by old pictures and portraits. Black and white images of remarkable faces, and each face represented a universe of notions; the way their eyes gaze, their posture, their costumes, their smile or frown, the lines on their faces. Each face had an untold story, and in each picture a frozen fragment of their life. As I began working as a digital collage artist, this fascination for old portraits became a main muse in my work, and my artwork became centred on these characters. I began finding great pleasure in recreating these characters as if bringing them back to life into a parallel world of space and time. 

This collection “Parallel Worlds” is inspired by this idea; images and faces of our people that have long left this world and with them their stories and dreams. Every figure narrates the essence of a spirit, in a silent language that visually speaks of pride, honour, beauty, courage and the overall glamour of the Circassian nation.

I would like to think that these images have made their way back to life, maybe aspiring to re-live again, or to retell a different story -if only for a short time- within a new visual context. 

I can freely say, that each work was created by itself, as if each character chose how and where they wish to be portrayed, and my role was to assemble the elements together, like a puzzle, into a visual narrative.

In essence, we are extensions of these departed people, and in a metaphoric sense they live within us and through us.