Visual Essay 02 by Anna Pogossova

For the launch of our porcelain bakeware in INK, Moscow-born, Sydney-based photographer Anna Pogossova documents the range, referencing classical Still Life Imagery and Yves Klein’s performative paintings with blue pigment.

“The colour blue, and the finish of the ceramics remind me of Johannes Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, with bread and blue drapery, touches of yellow and cream walls. I also think of Yves Klein blue.”

Anna unpacks her Visual Essay for us through Q&A.

Was there a concept that informed this shoot?

I was thinking about art making, cooking, and the colour blue; the kitchen as a studio, messy spaces for creation and experimentation. I took some inspiration from Yves Klein’s performative paintings in blue pigment, using the egg as the brush instead of the body. Like painting, I think the aftermath of cooking looks so chaotic, but the process is essentially about balance and restraint.

We’d love to know a little about your creative process, can you take us behind the scenes?

It works very much like free association. I start with the object. Every object already comes with it’s own cultural and historical references and symbolism. These references always trigger ideas and I build visual narratives from there. The colour blue, and the finish of the ceramics remind me of Johannes Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, with bread and blue drapery, touches of yellow and cream walls. I also think of Yves Klein blue.

Your practice marries fine art photography and product photography in a unique way, how did this style come about? What are your influences?

I have always considered contemporary product photography as a descendant of still life painting of the Dutch Golden Age. Sometimes I intentionally include those formal qualities and references into my work, and sometimes it happens very intuitively, as the two are intrinsically linked. My influences are really diverse, and I tend to borrow a little bit from everywhere in popular culture and across history, which is essentially what my style is, but there is a common thread; It’s about using symbols to tell stories.

Anna Pogossova's Bio

Anna Pogossova is a Moscow-born, Sydney-based still-life photographer and artist, whose work is concerned with the mythologies of objects. Hailing from a Fine Arts background, Anna often uses a variety of mediums to construct a photographic image, including painting, set design and digital illustration. Her signature style, which has been previously described as Pop-Surrealism, can be attributed to a mix of formal arts training, and her personal interests in popular culture iconographies and technology. There is a recognisable nod to her influences throughout her photographic work; from classical painting to science fiction film.

Anna’s clients include 10 Magazine, Vogue, Elle, Oyster, Museum Magazine, Vice, Grazia, GQ, Vogue Living, Manuscript, Russh, Tiger Beer, Westfield, David Jones, Myer Emporium, Lane Crawford, James St, City of Sydney, Dion Lee, Sass & Bide, Canon, Nokia and many others.

Anna Pogossova’s Website

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