Public Republic

Maria Aladzhova’s interview with the photographer Jessica Flavin

You are such a young artist. Have you always been interested in photography or did it come on the spur of the moment?
I became interested in photography when I was about twelve or thirteen. From a young age I’d been bought up in a creative environment, the American [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the photographer Paul Hessell

What did spark your interest in Egypt and ancient history?
I have been interested in history since my grade school days; it was my favorite subject in school. At times the class ended up being a dialogue between the teacher and myself. I became intensely interested in ancient Egyptian [...]

An interview with artist Sophie Holstein by Maya Kolarova

Photo: Personal archive

Sophie Holstein – biography notes and artist statement
I was born in 1983 in North of Germany. After I graduated from high school in 2003, I moved to Madrid for half a year to learn Spanish. I was curious to discover new places. Afterwards i [...]

An interview with artist Tiphaine de Bodman by Maya Kolarova

Photo: Personal archive

Tiphaine has been trained in illustration and graphics, with an ongoing passion for drawing, and obtained an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins in 2007.
Tiphaine’s approach to drawing is unique in its meticulousness and compulsiveness.
The laborious hours spent on sketching, as [...]

Maria Aladzhova’s interview with Huang Xiang and William Rock

In this issue of Artist of the week Public Republic presents you Huang Xiang and William Rock – two incredible artists and creators of The Century Mountain Project. The Century Mountain Project is an East/West collaboration of art that creates a “visual dialogue across humanity.”
Huang Xiang [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the photographer Andrea Laybauer

How and when did you realize that photography would be your vocation?
When I was 17, I was taking pictures of my friends in a very precarious way, using a white sheet as a background and a compact camera without resources.

A cobra

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the sculptor Mariska Zevenbergen

When and how did you realize that art was going to be your vocation?
There are two clear moments in my youth that I realized art is my vocation: at the age of four; an artist came into our class to make large paintings with us my heart became [...]

An interview with Desislava Slavova by Natalia Nikolaeva
Translation by Iva Kuncheva

Foto: Dessislava Slavova
“If you can dream it, you can do it”
Walt Disney
I like the moments when a person materializes a reality out of their dreams. I admire people who can put love, time, patience and faith into their dreams and thus create an alternate world. [...]

Yana Radilova’s interview with the photographer Art McLeod

My name is Art McLeod. I have been a nature photographer for many years. I grew up in Northern Ontario, Canada. My parents are wildlife photographers and have been ever since I was a child. We spent a lot of time in the wilderness and that had a [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the photographer Francisco Valera

Why did you choose photography as your hobby?
Well, first because it is a cheap hobby due to Internet and digital techniques, and second because I can translate my ideas in the different ways of photo composition.

Space collector

No choice – save our world

An interview with painter Jill Mulleady by Maya Kolarova
Jill Mulleady – “a whirlpool of complex emotions”

Photo: Personal archive

Jill Mulleady (born 1980 in Uruguay) is a painter based in London. She studied theatre at Jacques Lecoq School (2002-03), Paris and MA Fine Arts at Chelsea College of Arts, London (2007–09).
Jill Mulleady’s paintings combine figuration and [...]

An interview by Mira Dimova with the sculptor Anatoli Monov
Translation: Maya Kolarova

 
How long have you been making these small sculptures?
After I graduated from the academy in1996, Professor George Chapkunov was my tutor. It was very hard in the studio. In the beginning there were no conditions on me, and I attended whenever I could. I [...]

An interview with Pavel Harapov by Natalia Nikolaeva
Translation: Ellie Ivanova Ponti

Remember that good-natured woodcarver Geppetto who carved a marionette out of pine wood? And then a miracle happens: Pinocchio comes alive. Are these just children’s stories?

Zlatina Dimitrova’s interview with the photographer Erich Morton
Erich Morton: Photography was just what I thought about increasingly over my life

Why did you get involved with photography? Why not any other art?
 My father was a photography enthusiast and I remember always liking his photos from his trips to India and France. I had a toy camera [...]

Vanya Nikolaeva’s interview with Ronit Baranga

Ronit Baranga has a B.A. in Psychology and Hebrew Literature from Haifa University, Israel. She has also taken courses in Art History (Tel-Aviv University) and Practical Arts Studies (Bet-Berl College).
The first exhibition in which she participated was held in Israel in 2000. Additional exhibitions in a number of Israeli cities [...]

An interview with Eric Lafforgue by Desislava Velichkova
Africa’s passion by Eric Lafforgue

Born in 1964, Eric Lafforgue lives in Toulouse, France.
Ever since he was young, he has been fascinated by far away countries and travelling, and spent some time in Africa, unknowingly retracing Monfried and Joseph Kessels footsteps when he was 10 years old in [...]

By Ellie Ivanova Ponti

Photo: Leo Ponti
Many people see collecting art as an investment. And it is true that its value over time will probably grow. However, building a relationship with art is really a way of self-expression. It is an affirmation of our own worldview and creativity, even as viewers. Collecting art that reflects our [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the fashion photographer Oleg Igorin

When and how did you “discover” your passion for photography?
I suddenly was going along a shop window and saw a digital camera. I remember it was Olympus. It was 5 years ago. I think my passion for photography began technically at that moment. Esthetically I always loved [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the fashion photographer Antonio Garcia
Antonio Garcia: “The Most Important Thing in Fashion Photography is Passion”

How were you attracted to the world of fashion?
When I was learning photography, I was introduced to many photographers. A lot of disciplines, a lot of different fields: documentary, sports, landscapes, still photography… and fashion. I found [...]

Mariana Velichkova’s interview with the fashion photographer Christian Leitner

How has photography become an important part of your life?
A benefit of working at a university is that you can travel a lot to places you would normally not visit as a tourist, so I started to take pictures wherever I went. But the real life changing [...]