Satellite Voices

Moscow / Русский

Tata Vislevskaya

September 7, 2011

Wild nature with the dreamy photography talent

• Text by Kemal Tarba

Tata Vislevskaya is a 25-year-old graduate of Moscow State University, where she studied journalism. She first experienced photography four years ago with her first medium-format camera Kiev-88. Today Tata travels with her Hasselblad 503 and Mamiya С330 up and down the globe capturing intensely romantic scenes of wild nature. Tata’s photos were first exhibited in August 2010 in the framework of French Night of Photography in Brittany and another exhibition took place in Roman Theatre in Orange in July 2011. She plans to publish a montage album with the most beautiful photos and talks to SV about her current project "Forest".

Satellite voices: What project are you working on at the moment?
Tata Vislevskaya: Now my friends and I are working on an international media-project “Forest”, where a lot of reputed and young illustrators, photographers, visual artists from Russia, the USA, Britain, Japan, France and Germany. Using the language of photography, audio-visual and object installations we’ll tell about our personal perception of the forest, its role in life on Earth and its influence on our own lives.

SV: What do you find most fascinating about wild nature?
Tata Vislevskaya: Wild world is a world of my dreams. It could be well-disposed but also could reject, banish you. You would always stare after it – as if you’re driving a car and look back turning your neck. There are incredible spaces that make you experience unbelievable emotions. “You can touch everything, but you can’t take anything away with you.” That’s why you take your camera and get connected with it all, concentratedly and feverishly remembering the atmosphere with eyes and roll-film. It’s in the same way meditative and hysterical way of life and textures perception. But it really works. I like being the mediator between the nature and photomaterial. There’s no sense in inventing other realities instead of those that are flying around you.

SV: Would you describe yourself as a happy person?
Tata Vislevskaya: I dare say I’m very happy person.

SV: What’s the best thing about your city?
Tata Vislevskaya: It’s hard for me to write about the city, where I’ve never felt at home. Nevertheless, broad expanse, Stalin’s Empire style, strangers that could stop and start talking to you about the fate of the world just while passing by are key Moscow symbols. There’re incredible seasonal transitions, wonderful May nights and lots of beautiful stray dog. And also our streets are clean.