Nadja, 40 years old, artist and designer, Moscow - St. Petersburg - Berlin
“I make anti-war art and work as a freelance designer. There’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in that, but also a lot of freedom — you can live and work pretty much anywhere. It matters to me to make things that actually mean something, not just things that function. When I say anti-war art, I don’t mean posters with tanks or slogans. It’s quieter — small shifts in familiar words or images, so the meaning unfolds instead of being shouted. I don’t want to convince anyone. I want to give people a second to stop, think — and feel like they’re not alone in it.
Before 2022, being Russian in Berlin felt almost neutral. Now it’s this ongoing exercise in inner ethics: how do you keep yourself from going numb, from getting used to it, from losing your sense of responsibility for what’s happening.
The overall vibe of my stuff is this slightly anxious surrealism. Everything looks like a random collection, but each thing is there for a reason — for memory, for comfort, for some kind of protection, or just as a reminder that the world doesn’t owe anyone logic. I think my personality works pretty much the same way.
It’s a pen shaped like an axe in the middle. I guess for «cutting through the bullshit.»
I’ve run into a lot of aggressive and just plain weird people over the years, so the bayonet for me is more about feeling safe. Like a psychological self-defense object.
The toy is just really strange and a little ridiculous — which is exactly why I love it. There’s something calming about imperfect things.
I’ve loved rocks since I was a kid. Friends bring them back for me from different places, and over time they’ve turned into this little collection of memories. Rocks hold so much — time, nature, stillness.”