Born in Russia, the multidisciplinary creator is currently stationed in Italy, living out her Florentine dream. On the web, she resides @sheidlina, weaving tall tales from the unconscious mind of a millennial in a virtual gallery filled with 4.5 million friends.

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY! WHAT KIND OF TRANSFORMATION DO YOU HOPE TO MAKE DURING YOUR 27TH YEAR ON EARTH?
Thank you very much for your congratulations. I love this day. For me, the date of June 30th gives the best gifts. Last birthday, I decided to pull out my inner painter and devote a year to raising her. This year, I got to know the world in the form of a coin toss, on one side, “take from me,” and on the other, “invest in me.” [I draw limitless resources from the creativity of Florence], and this is the place where I invest and develop. In the world of a coin toss, the result is not important. In the palm of your hand, before throwing, you have both [outcomes]. It is always a mutual exchange, but unfortunately, I take more than I give, which is better than giving more than taking. The question leads to a denouncement about plans to change by 28. What kind of gift will I see next year? I feel more responsibility, and my egocentrism is giving way to a harmonious relationship with the world. I want to teach people to feel the Earth in a broader sense than just ecology; it needs our love. The focus is on the inner while abstract, but figurativeness is already visible in its most beautiful stage. We will find out the answer in a year.


HOW ARE LIFE AND SCHOOL GOING IN FLORENCE?
I am studying at the Florence Classical Academy of Art, and my husband Eugene is studying at the Marangoni Institute as an art curator. Marangoni is no less magical for me since this was the reason for my arrival in Italy. Eugene’s choice fell on this profession for a reason. All ten years of our creative life together, we have been a team. We always discuss ideas together. I sketch

them as criminals on the run whose capture is rewarded with publication in the Sheidlin gallery, then he photographs or films the idea, and I start drawing. On my 25th birthday, I realized that I wanted to have exhibitions all over the world.

Initially, moving to Florence was Eugene’s idea. Exhibitions were paused due to the pandemic, and all of our projects got canceled, so we decided that we would spend this liberated year on development. He changed his major to art curation and found an excellent opportunity in Italy. So we ended up here, and I found an amazing academy that has already connected my life with painting forever.


FOR YOUR CURRENT EXHIBITION IN PALERMO WITH EDOARDO DIONEA CICCONI, HOW HAVE YOU BROUGHT US INTO YOUR UNIVERSE EVEN MORE? WHAT HAS THE RECEPTION BEEN?
In my diary, I cleanse my brain in the morning, describing my condition. At the end of 2020, I wrote that I would not leave Italy without an exhibition. In January, we got acquainted with Edoardo and his plans to open a residence for artists. This exhibition is a very special project for me; it is a collaboration between two artists who work in the most different areas of art. [It proves that artists of any kind can come together to create.] 

For many, we have performed a miracle by finding a way to work harmoniously at the exhibition. For me, it could not be otherwise because I love collaboration. Before the pandemic, when I fell in love with people, I asked where they lived and went to their city to work with them. Now, I cannot be free in collaborations because countries are closed to tourists. I want to create a petition in defense of artists; they should have a visa-free regime for all countries. The letter will begin with the words “we need peace, we need inspiration” and be sent to all presidents. 

Edoardo is the genius of installation. From my photographs, he created a completely new object; even I became a surprised viewer. At the exhibition, I put a lot of emphasis on two facets of my work. I placed digital next to oil canvases to show how one idea looks from one box in my head using different materials. I also wanted to show why it is important not to limit yourself to the framework of one creative embodiment. It is an exhibition about fears that have names. The space unites the installations with the kinetic mirrors of Edo, through which my already distorted works are visible. I think the heart of the exhibition is 24 photographs ten meters long. This installation was under the direction of Edoardo, who acted as a curator and artist at the same time. Metal fragments of the image "What Ellen’s Fears Look Like" depicts 24 Ellens as 24 hours of doubt in a day. Although the creation was insanely simple, up until the last moment, people thought it was Photoshop. There is only one real me, and the others are girls in white wigs who [offered to help]. It was the last photogenic work before moving to Italy. When I return to St. Petersburg, we need to do another one where we’re all hugging.


AS AN ARTIST, WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING IN THE WORLD OF NFT’S? WHAT EXCITES YOU? WHAT CONCERNS YOU?
My life still has not changed with the advent of new technology. I find it quite interesting from the point of view of digital art monetization; we now have a new selling function. While it all feels very raw and not in demand, people probably are not yet ready to trust their funds to cryptocurrencies and data linked to them with information about the picture or artist. I believe in NFT’s, but too little time has passed to see major changes in the industry. I feel that now my virtual surrealism is fully formed. Virtually, my NFT works are mixed with video art. Reality has made friends with my photographs, and when I want to dream in Java, I turn to oil painting.


IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH THE LATE ANDY WARHOL, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE?
I would not collaborate unless I saw a lively interest equal to that which I have in him. It is difficult to imagine what our joint project would look like since it would be as individual as possible. I would not want to get out of Brillo's boxes or swim in Campbell's soup. I dream of something more synchronous, where he would join in creative dialogue with my works and shoot a film. Only he and I would know about this work so as not to spoil it.

WHY DO YOU THINK SOME PEOPLE VIEW POP-SURREALISM AS PEDOPHILIC? WHY IS THIS NARROW-MINDED?
I did a lot of research on this topic, reading thousands of comments from psychologists, activists, and artists working in this field. As a result, it only became more difficult to give a sober assessment, and the conclusion was not as obvious as it seemed before. It raises so many questions about permissiveness, the framework of self-expression, and the ability to distinguish violence in art from violence committed in real life. The worst thing you can do is call a harmless image painted on canvas a real action towards pedophilia. I am unequivocally against hypocrites who fight artists from a moral standpoint while ignoring real problems.


WHAT IS IT ABOUT DOLLS THAT YOU FIND UNIVERSALLY APPEALING OR RELATABLE?
I don't like dolls, but I do like the aesthetics of hypertrophied, surreal forms. I have one sculpture from Mari Shimizu, and it is a large doll inside hell, purgatory, and heaven. When I bought this work in Tokyo, I did not fully understand the central meaning of it. I had heard about purgatory before, but I never thought much about it. Here in Florence, I read Dante's book "The Divine Comedy," and all the elements of this sculpture acquired a new meaning for me. I discovered this work in a new way, and I look forward to meeting her when I return to St. Petersburg. [The dolls that I like are the ones with riddles.]

HOW IS BEING PRETTY A PRIVILEGE? HOW IS IT A CURSE?
Aesthetics is born before ethics, but everyone [has their standards], although conventional beauty is a common measure. This world is infinitely unfair, and as George Orwell said, "At 50, everyone has the face he deserves." I would not want qualities beyond our control at birth to become criteria for an assessment; this is an evil similar to Nazism. The reality is that I am the beneficiary of those external qualities that I have learned to use in my work. I know that a rather high percentage of interest in my success comes from a pretty face. It would be an illusion for me to think that all the attention I get is only because of my work.


WHAT IS SOMETHING CRITICAL THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS HELPED YOU TO UNMASK?
[The pandemic allowed me to fulfill my childhood dream of art education.] Yes, the world was on pause, but I needed that so badly. When you remove external elements, such as masks, closed borders, endless testing, and sanitizers, it leaves the person and the virus. The biggest challenge then becomes the inability to communicate and the fear of separation caused by this damned social distance. We are tired of Zoom; it is not enough. We need a person nearby and not their image on a screen. [Even so, the artist embraces their easel just the same.] New world, I love you too, don't cry.


HOW HAVE YOU USED YOUR FEAR OF THE DARK TO EMPOWER YOUR ART?
My pictures say it better than words. Take a close look at this centipede crawling out of the darkness. Even if I am very scared, I will never close my eyes; I freeze and turn into a still photograph. When I decide to touch the darkness, I understand that this is just the same me as in the light. Darkness is an empty room without windows and doors, which reminds me very much of my inner me. I do not perceive darkness in a negative way. I do not know how to create dark art; even when they tell me to make an evil face, it looks cute and has cheeks. So the world is friendship, chewing gum, and tomorrow, we'll see.

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Ellen Sheidlin
Yes, I’m a princess, deal with it!, 2017, series 24

YOU’VE SAID THAT YOUR WORK INVITES “ESCAPE TO A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN’T HURT ANYONE.” TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS ESCAPE — I AM THINKING OF MOVING THERE.
This is up to your imagination or fantasy; it is whatever you like.

With no physical location, Ellen Sheidlin’s Sweet Escape is a state of mind. If you look inward, you’ll find this wonderland of transformation. Surreal, sweet, and sometimes sinister, it is a place of self-acceptance that anyone can join. Welcome home.