I believe there is only one way for me to live this life. It is by introducing a new matter in the realm that I feel alive. A matter that has been crafted with none other than my own hands and my own poetic memory. It is because I am standing with eyes wide open, and there are things out there. It is because I do not take them lightly. It is because something is flowing through me. And I am not complete nor am I myself without it. It knew me even before I could give it a name.

I see artist statement as a way to describe an artist's headspace; because it is the artist's original vision lying behind his works and that makes him enchanting. Works are only glimpses, they are products that have their own limits and lives. The artist's mind, however, is a stage, it is a treasure for another curious mind. It is something an artist carries.


What is Anya Romanoff's headspace ? What is the thread that I put my beads on?

My mind is sharply intellectual, deeply poetic, and inquisitive. If I didn't have to create matter, I would go into cinema or music. If I didn't have a visual nature, I would go into philosophy. If I had a preference for words, I would write poetry.

My core inspiration is Nature in its metaphysical sense. I will elaborate. Nature is an awfully short word. My using it in a sentence does not convey any relevant meaning nor does it give you a full understanding of my reasoning. Everyone in their right mind loves nature. Artists have depicted its forms since before I was born. We are all drawn to it. But why is it so ?

Nature becomes truly the ultimate magical phenomenon once you start philosophizing. Once you get into the headspace. And it is never boring.

Let's say, I see a cat. The moment I think to myself, "Oh, that's a cat. A "cat" looks this way, moves this certain way, has these certain qualities, etc," the moment I do that, all the charm slips through my fingers. But when I look at it as if I know nothing about it, I will start to wonder, what it is and why is it alive. And what makes one "alive". What is the underlying force that can not be seen but can be felt.

At that moment it will become slightly terrifying but still rather important to you. It will give you the shivers. You will see that Nature is something so raw and divine, so hard to comprehend and identify. And it is the single most gorgeous thing out there. And it is out there. We are a glimpse of it too, but we are forgetful.

Once you get that, you will see Nature with reverence. And as an artist, you will be inclined to paint it, to repeat its traces. To give your awe an output.


I have been waiting to put this in writing. Now it is clear why I do the things I do.

Apart from philosophy there is a poetic vision in my headspace. A truly poetic moment comes unexpectedly and on a rare occasion. I catch it, polish it and make a painting about it – visual poetry. Kundera wrote once that one can have a special depository for poetic sensations, called the poetic memory. But one has to be able to see it first.

Alongside poetry there is visual sensitivity. In Studio Ghibli's The Wind Rises there is a phenomenal scene where a mackerel's bone catches Jiro's eye. The way it is slightly curved prompts him to repeat this shape over and over, crafting an airplane in the end. This is a perfect representation of how an artist is built – to be driven by shapes, rhythms and colours. Wanting to make it his own, reproducing it over and over. I was manic about shapes since childhood – it turned almost into an obsession. At the end it was just a beautiful line here and there.

Apart from visual side, deep down, there are also morals of an artist, which can never be hidden. The soul speaks. It dictates one's art. To be good-natured is the most important thing. Malice does not mix with genius.


All this combined lives in an artist, myself included. However making art is not the end goal. The end goal is to learn while living well – learn while making something – since there is no other way.

Anya Romanoff