In the studio: Elene Metreveli

2016-09-08

Seeing Elena once, it will be difficult to forget her or confuse her with someone else. Her low voice, loud laughter and a unique style: she always has a lot of clothing items and accessories that you can watch forever. It is the same with her art works: mixture of textures, styles and realities. OilyOil looked into the studio to Elene Metreveli, spied for her work and asked about the most important things

About the studio

I had a lot of experiments with the studios. Previously, I had always lived in one place and the studio in the other place. But then the situation has become more complicated with traffic jams that finally happened in Moscow. While I was traveling from home to the studio, I lost the idea of my future work. I could come to the studio and just sat in front of the canvas, did not know how to start and what to do at all. Thus came the idea to rent an apartment where I could live and work. For me, the studio has always been a second home. And now the house became full.

About dreams studio

This should be a large space with panoramic windows, approximately 100 m2. Ideally this should be the space platform, which forms the second floor. It has to be mobile, so I could move it around the studio and form a concealed space where the bed would be, and where I could be alone. And important for me to be able to do everything. I should not think that I can do something to damage or to stain.

About Tbilisi

Recently, I was offered to do in Tbilisi one interesting project. Parallel to this, I realized that I became increasingly distracted by other things on the creativity and realized that it was time to do something about this. So I decided for some time to live in two cities. Month I will live in Tbilisi, where I transported all entire artistic life. And other things, including a clothing store, which I do in Moscow, will remain here. It`s important for me to go to work fully, so I decided to make sure that this does not hurt. And I want to make an exhibition in Tbilisi. I`m Georgian, but I did`t have any exhibition there.

About music

I can not live without music. I pay great attention to every note and every sound. And every sound and every note I associate with something. For example, I hear a sound and start to imagine how this sound is lit at night. I see a butterfly and a plant that I’m starting to visually confused with jellyfish under water, where the trees grow, which also glow like jellyfish – and it’s all just one musical sound. I always feel very different emotions when I hear music. If it`s rock, I can became into the role of girlfriend of Mick Jagger in the 80s. If it is electronic music, I can see the neon colors and go into space. For example, when I talk with the person and the background music is playing, that annoys me, I don’t hear what the man says. Probably so much nothing else works for me.

About favorite teachers

I had a favorite teacher at school and at the institute. At school I was a very lazy child, badly studied. It was the subject of Zoology that nobody liked but me. I really liked the teacher – she was very fair and appreciated how I tried for her. I even went to the Olympics in Zoology. And I have always had a lot of animals at home and I brought parrots on the lessons it has opened its wings and told how the pen is responsible for what. I deliberately did everything to the teacher. In the institute I had a few favorite teachers. For example, the incredible Larisa Ivanovna. She explained, directed, but do not over my work. Because there are such teachers who are fit to work, take a pencil and draw instead of 10 minutes an hour. After this work has ceased to be yours. If by this teacher wanted I started all over again, he did it. Maybe it was his goal.

About style

My style – it’s almost like music for me. My image can be deceiving. I quickly dressed, come up with all for 10 minutes. But it all depends on my mood. Sometimes I dress the way I feel myself today. And sometimes I hide. I can be sad, and I’ll get dressed very bright: a T-shirt with cats and skirt with tassels on it. And I like to think that these cats will play with these tassels. That`s how I think. And sometimes I have a great mood, but I want to be a vampire. So I put on black clothes and go to a meeting, and will sit down with the face, if I really want someone to bite. It’s all play. I love fashion trends, but do not pay attention to them. Basically, I do what I want.