Mermaid #1 (Depression in the comfort of your own home) Painting

My name is Sasha Laika. I studied figurative art in Moscow, Russia, followed by a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration in the UK. A London-based artist for the past 15 years, I work in contemporary symbolism creating highly intricate works that play with fact and fiction and swing between fantasy and reality. I have a great interest in human psychology and brain science which inspires and influences my practice. ARTIST STATEMENT I paint the mystery of human condition, making each painting a chapter in a story of the experience of being human. I am interested in observing and visualising abstract concepts that are inherent to our nature. These are intangible concepts like states of mind, emotion or being. My focus is to create a window into the visceral sensation of an experience that a linguistic construct cannot capture in its full complexity. Drawing on imagery from mythology and folklore my works are often inhabited by mystical creatures that morph between human and animal, existing in a stasis of transition, ending up being not fully in either world. Decorative and bold in appearance, my paintings combine rich colours with intricately worked patterns inspired by nature and traditional arts and crafts.