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Alena is a portrait photographer and her main task is to create an artistic image. “Most people, when looking at works of art, evaluate them from the point of view of “like – don’t like”, but often can’t explain why. Depth, emotional message and associations evoke a mental response, while from a technical point of view, composition, heat and coldness and, most importantly, the play of light and shadow are important. Portraiture is the art of synthesis and analysis, but of course there is also the 5th element, the microcosm, and I always try to reflect the most beautiful facets of human souls,” she explains.
The portrait of Orlando Bloom, made by her in February this year, entered the collection of The National Portrait Gallery. She became the second author (but the only woman) from Ukraine whose work was acquired by the museum – the first was Murray Korman.
When asked how the collaboration with the gallery went, Alena replies: “When familiarizing myself with my portfolio, the chief curator of photography gave me complete freedom of action. My first step was an idea and artistic selection through an intuitive sense of personality. Orlando is a Buddhist and I decided to emphasize symbolism in my choice of background. Preparing a small canvas, I applied blue paint, representing the depth of the subconscious, combined with a lot of sand as an allegory of transformation. When I met Orlando, he struck me with his modesty and spirituality, so I chose a shot with an inward gaze.
In addition to Bloom, Alena collaborated with actor Bill Nye – meeting him she calls “a sign of fate”. “We literally saw each other randomly everywhere in London, exchanging a few words. One day he joked that if we saw each other again, he would introduce me to his PR agent. And a week later we bumped into each other in a cafe. I signed a contract with his agency, but they kept postponing the photo shoot due to busy schedules. Over the years, life brought us together again in unexpected places. One day I was standing pregnant in line for cheese, and behind me was, guess who! We decided there was nowhere else to put it off and Bill offered to dedicate a portrait to my future daughter. A true English gentleman!” As for other interesting characters, she has a shoot scheduled for this fall with Sir David Souché, known for his role as Hercule Poirot.
Last year, Alena also participated in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition: “I was insanely happy to feel a part of my beloved London and to observe from the inside the exhibition, its traditions and rituals originating from 1769. This participation was not only a pleasant surprise, but also an incentive to submit my work to other competitions and grants. I am happy to pass the baton to all those who create: try, experiment, and you will definitely succeed!”.