Marina Fedorova

Canvas: How would you describe the Ethereal Echoes exhibition, and what will the visitor experience involve?

Marina Fedorova: Ethereal Echoes is a multifaceted aesthetic dialogue between art, fashion and culture, enriched by digital reality. Together with Yousef Akbar, a Saudi fashion designer, we have built a platform that redefines classical art and fashion design narratives. It is a journey on which paintings come to life, dresses tell stories and heritage merges seamlessly with the realms of art and fashion. The paintings are brought to life through augmented reality, enticing visitors into a realm of multi-dimensional splendour. Yousef Akbar adds an extraordinary layer with contemporary dresses that meticulously intertwine with my artworks, blurring the boundaries between the tangible and the ethereal. With the help of the innovative digital technology, the paintings are enhanced with immersive video experiences, offering a unique perspective on art. Yousef’s dresses incorporate 3D laser mapping and Cosmodreams AR technology, turning fashion into a vibrant canvas where art and heritage interlace in a mesmerising dance.

I see this project as a unique collaboration of two artists who are from different media – painting and fashion – as well as from different cultures and heritage backgrounds. Yet, equally for Yousef and I, beauty is our common essence and an element that should save the world. I think our dreams are similar: peaceful coexistence between nations, awareness of our planet’s future and preservation of nature. All my paintings from the Cosmodreams series, which formed the basis of the eponymous art project and some of which are included in Ethereal Echoes, are related to people’s desires, dreams and aspirations. For instance, what do the people of the desert dream about? Desert turns to forest, oasis, rivers and waterfalls, fruit orchards. Ethereal Echoes embodies this vision. Everyone is invited to join us in dreaming, finding inspiration and working together to make our world a better place.

How does this project bring together fashion and art?

I find the project especially interesting and intriguing. There was a period in my life when I was at a crossroads of destiny and had to choose between art and fashion. After graduating from the secondary art school at the age of 15, I studied at art college and majored in Graphic Design. My graduation project was centred on fashion house brand style creation. In those days, I was so fascinated by the fashion world that I decided to become a fashion designer and entered the St Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design to major in Fashion Design and Illustration. During my six years of studies there – and the Academy is quite conservative, providing a strong classical art education – I had internships at various fashion houses and worked as an art and fashion journalist. This gave me an insider perspective on the world of fashion.

For two years in a row, I interned with the Kotegova Fashion House in St Petersburg, and while there I realised that I adored high fashion and was in love with beautiful dresses, but I liked drawing them rather than sewing them. At the Stieglitz Academy, every Fashion Design major must present a mini fashion collection of six to 10 dresses as their graduation project. I decided to put my six years of my studies on the line and created not a collection of dresses but a series of human-size paintings depicting dresses. At the graduation fashion show, models in flesh-coloured tights carried my paintings featuring dresses adorned with butterfly wing motifs. The title of the collection was I Believe I Can Fly. At the end of the show, one model came out in a simple white floor-length dress. I followed her on the runway, and in only five minutes I painted the whole dress as if it were a canvas. After this public statement everything was clear for me: from then on, I saw my future as an artist (who loves fashion, of course).

Since then, I have had hundreds of exhibition projects. Painting is my passion and life, but my fashion background and the love of depicting dresses still has a big influence on my work. That’s why project Ethereal Echoes captured me completely. It is a unique and dream project for me, and attractive not only for art lovers but fashionistas as well.

I’ve created three paintings after Yousef Akbar dresses, which I found somewhat impudent and therefore even more inspiring. They embody a dream of the green and fertile desert and of harmonious human coexistence within it. Meanwhile, Yousef Akbar created the Cosmodreams dress inspired by spirit of the project and by my paintings. The dress shines as a stretch of golden sand in the last rays of the sun and truly reflects the fairy tale Cosmodreams mood.

During the evening of the vernissage, I plan to do a live performance in which I will apply paint to a specially created dress. The only thing I can share at this point is that it will be inspired by that gem of Saudi Arabian heritage, the Al-Ahsa oasis.

Could you tell us more about the sculpture you made for Al-Ahsa? What element of the oasis captured you the most?

I was impressed to learn about the Al-Ahsa Oasis and immensely inspired by its beauty. It is one Saudi Arabia’s true jewels, and Palm Tree Lady is a tangible embodiment of its enchanting beauty. Infused with intricate details and a touch of futuristic technology, the sculpture captures the essence of Al-Ahsa’s rich heritage, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in its storied past.

Palm Tree Lady is accompanied by an AR scenario in which the sculpture is the Al-Ahsa oasis itself – she is a goddess of nature, verdure and fertility. She is Mother Nature.

Another captivating experience for visitors is the AR scenarios you mentioned.

The Cosmodreams: Art in AR application offers enchanting scenarios that can be explored by simply pointing a smartphone camera at an artwork. The boundary between reality and augmented reality blurs, allowing everyone to step into this captivating new world.
With the application open on their devices, viewers can see the special animated scenarios and effects for AR-tagged paintings, take selfies, shoot photos and videos and then save or share them via social media.

The works that I’ve created for the exhibition come to life through augmented reality (AR) in a way that profoundly impacts your experience as a visitor. The painting Blue Dress is a good example: Yousef Akbar’s fashion serves as a wellspring of inspiration for this piece. In the AR scenario, the model in the painting becomes an integral part of the viewer experience. She evokes the serene beauty of shimmering waters reflecting the fading sun’s rays. Her dress flows like liquid, akin to a pristine blue lake within the vast, white desert. Through AR, you can witness the fusion of fashion and art in a vivid, immersive manner.

The crown of the Ethereal Echoes exhibition tour might well be seen as the VR video Moon Fashion Show, created especially for the event. Through VR glasses or on their screens, viewers are able to enjoy fully immersive dress presentations in a video inspired by Yousef’s dresses and made after my sketches. I hope that visitors to the Ethereal Echoes exhibition will fully enjoy the fantasy world created by two artists.

What can you share about the digital tools used to create the works?

All digital components are meant to be a bridge between classical painting (which might look a bit outmoded to some people today) and a wider audience, especially the younger generation. If the smartphone totally absorbs our contemporary attention, why not look at paintings through the phone screen and learn the story beyond the canvas? 

I’ve always wanted to go one step further, to create a story. Very often art curators have described my paintings as “film stills”, and in a way they are indeed stills from my inner movie. Nowadays, with all the digital art technologies available, I can show these inner movies to everyone. For me, digital tools – in the AR and VR formats in particular – offer new opportunities for self-expression by complementing artworks with an interactive experience. It is a sphere that fascinates me, and I always want to create something new that will attract attention and reinvent traditional art forms. 

Technology is increasingly penetrating our everyday lives, and at such lightning speed that we do not even notice it. Many of us are constantly glued to the screen – if not a smartphone, then a work laptop – and there is nothing wrong with that. This is a new reality, a ‘New Norm’ to which one needs to adapt. Artists should adapt also. But once again, keeping in mind that the digital formats are only a tool. I believe that form should not prevail over concept.

How was the artistic interaction between your own background and that of Youssef Akbar translated and projected in the exhibition?

As I mentioned, Ethereal Echoes is a dream project for me. The work of the respective teams and we two artists was smooth and enjoyable. It’s easy to work with people who share your views and aspirations. We are creators, we dream to see a world in which everybody lives in peace and coexists harmoniously. For us, it is important not only external beauty, but beauty of souls and our deeds.

In Ethereal Echoes we are creating an immersive approach that redefines how you can experience the beauty of art and fashion, serving as a testament to the profound impact of creativity and innovation in expanding the horizons of artistic expression.

Ethereal Echoes runs until 9 December 2023