Eugenia Polyakova

Your practice is shaped by both marketing and art history. How do these two fields influence the way you build an image?

I think my work exists somewhere between those two worlds. I’m interested in how an image can attract someone, but then slowly reveal something more psychological, emotional and meaningful underneath.

Eugenia Polyakova | Eternal Ritual | 2026

You have worked in media production and visual storytelling. How has this professional experience affected your artistic language?

Working in media production gave me a strong visual confidence very early on. Being constantly surrounded by image-making, storytelling, and fast creative decisions taught me not to be afraid of experimenting or trusting my instincts. It made creativity feel natural and fluid rather than something precious or rigid.

Your works often combine intuitive gestures with a strong sense of structure. How do you balance spontaneity and control in your process?

Usually the process begins very instinctively. I work fast in the beginning because to bring the emotional energy of the piece. Then later comes the more analytical part – removing, covering, balancing, rebuilding.

Eugenia Polyakova | Golden Hour | 2026

Many of your compositions feel layered, tactile, and almost sculptural. What role does texture play in your work?

Texture plays a big role in my work. I like to mix different mediums and sculptural elements because I want the surface to feel almost archaeological, like something that has been built, damaged, preserved, and rewritten many times. The materiality becomes part of the emotional language of the work.

Symbols, signs, and fragmented forms appear frequently in your paintings. How do you choose the visual symbols that enter your work?

Symbolism definitely takes big role in my work. I’m interested in symbols because they survive across generations even when meanings change. Some come from ancient visual languages, some from contemporary media culture, and some are completely personal.

Eugenia Polyakova | Redacted Memory | 2025

Your art explores memory and emotional perception. Are your works connected to specific personal memories, or do they come from more abstract emotional states?

Emotional states often become the real structure behind my work, most of the times it all begins with a very personal memory or feeling, but during the process it becomes more universal and abstract.

Eugenia Polyakova | Static Gravity | 2026

How does living and working in the UAE influence your creative perspective?

Living in the UAE for over 12 years exposed me to a very unique cultural environment where tradition and extreme modernity exist side by side. There is a constant sense of transformation here – architecturally, socially, emotionally. I think that influenced my sensitivity to themes like identity, memory, and constructed realities. The multicultural atmosphere also made me more aware of how symbols and visual languages shift depending on cultural context, while still carrying universal emotional meanings.