Sasha Godiaieva

My name is Sasha. Sasha Godiaeva. SASHA SASHA Lab is in a way my creative pseudonym. I can define myself as an art director, creator, designer, illustrator, writer, chief editor or find many other names and definitions for myself and my work. But that is not what really matters. What is really important is that in my work I was and still am lucky enough to interact with all kinds of people, a great number and variety of personalities. Being involved in creative processes, I realized that in order to make something really extraordinary, you need to open your heart and let the energy of other creatures in. And only this mutual heart to heart interaction gives life to something that is absolutely impossible to describe in words, but can only be felt and enjoyed. This is how the art is born.

I realized that I no longer need to call myself an artist or an art director, or anybody else. When I work and interact with other people I am a walking laboratory of ideas, opportunities, creative processes, experiments. I live, breathe, learn, dream and lots of people do that with me. In a sense, as we do things together, we live in each other. Therefore, my laboratory is my open heart and a passionate readiness to create at all times.

SA...

My career started the way I had been always dreaming about: being a student of the preparatory group at the National Academy of Arts and Architecture in Kyiv, I took part in several exhibitions for young artists with my paintings and installations. It was a very happy time for me. Back then art in Ukraine was even more distinctive and original than it is now, and it was much easier to express yourself than in the existing European society full of canons and rules, even in such seemingly free sphere as art.

Then I moved to the fashion capital of Italy, where I had immersed myself into the world of fashion for the following 6 years. I successfully graduated from ISTITUTO MARANGONI, one of the most prestigious institutions in this sphere, and then worked as a creator, designer and art director in various fashion companies. After nearly 7 years I have returned to Kiev and started working as an art director at an American advertising agency Leo Burnett. My successful career in the advertising industry, fashion and design taught me a lot, but unfortunately could not give me the most important thing ever – joy of doing what you really like. Gradually, I began working as an illustrator and designer of urban spaces, and then I set up my...