Infusion of Russian and Samoan art

By Emily Elizabeth Fruean 21 December 2018, 12:00AM

Nadya Va’a is a Samoa-based artist and graphic designer celebrating 10 years of residence in Samoa. Her diverse and picturesque acrylic painting collection, symbolic of her life in Samoa is now on display at the Vanya Taulealo Art Gallery at Taumeasina. 

Nadya is originally from Yekaterinaburg , Russia and her travels have taken her from Moscow, Sydney and finally to Samoa. Before she decided to move into the country, Nadya thought the choice that would lead her to a distant and unfamiliar country might be a hasty one, however when she was given the advice that “no matter where she went, it was still one planet”, she truly realized that we are all united and similar by the very Earth we dwell in.

Hence the latter is the inspiration behind the title of her new collection. It depicts the artist’s feelings and emotion in the form of symmetry and patterns that have brought her to a country she now calls home. The opening exhibition at the Vanya Taule’alo Gallery yesterday, showcasing 10 paintings with Samoan and Russian motifs.

The patterns selected by the artist are used differently in each country but share similar meanings. The motifs are what draws the connection between the two countires she calls home and connect each painting to one another. The shared patterns represent that we are all of the same rondure of life. 

Nadya’s work also expresses how raw Samoan beauty is authentic as it is aesthetic. All the paintings have been crafted uniquely with different techniques, colour and styles. One painting is styled as a collage, others with embellishments of leaves and stencils. The works are boldly mixed with a uniform composition of abstract colours and ornamental arrangements.

The two main paintings titled, “Scarlet Sails” and “Tree of my Life” highlight her move and how her Russian life has been influenced by Samoa with its fascinating and beautiful tapa and traditional motifs. It expresses how she has come from her native land of large cities, into a land of moving and existing myriads of colours and lush vegetation.

Nadya’s Still One Planet collection will be on exhibition at the Vanya Taulealo Gallery from December 20 to January 20, 2019.

By Emily Elizabeth Fruean 21 December 2018, 12:00AM

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