LIGHT, SYMBOLISM, AND STORYTELLING WITH EVA VEI

In this studio visit, we take a closer look at the artistic journey of Eva Vei, a Greek visual artist whose work explores themes of communication, intimacy, and identity through photography. Eva’s pieces traverse the boundaries of art forms, blurring lines between painting, sculpture, and photography. From her upbringing in Greece to her current base in Sweden, Eva shares her thoughts on the creative process, the role of symbolism in her work, and the interplay between light, location, and memory. We also learn about her experiences exhibiting internationally and how these opportunities have shaped her artistic perspective. Join us as Eva unpacks her evolving practice, current projects, and the intimate stories behind her works in (COMA’s Season 2) art drop.

The following interview has been edited and condensed.

COMA: Can you tell us about your journey into art? What initially drew you to photography and visual art as your medium of expression?

Eva: I would say that it happened very organically. I started to watch many films as a teenager and fell in love with the use of colors, the framing and the visual storytelling. Soon I realised that what stayed with me were mostly still frames. I got a camera as a gift when I was 14 and I have been photographing since then. I guess pretty much everything has changed since then, except the fact that I am still photographing. When I had to decide what to study, I felt like I needed to learn more about art theory; that’s why my first degree is Art History and Art Sciences.

COMA: You have a diverse academic background, combining art history, photography, and visual art. How has this interdisciplinary foundation influenced your artistic practice?

Eva: I think Art History has been a huge influence in my artistic practice. I love painting and sculpture, and sometimes I feel like what I am doing is closer to these forms of art rather than photography itself. I don’t divide them much, I believe you can do painting with a camera and photography with a brush. I am always going back to the relationship between photography and painting.

COMA: Your work often revolves around communication and intimacy in everyday interactions. Could you share what draws you to these themes and how they shape your creative process?

Eva: I am always intrigued by human relationships and examining the level we can actually connect to each other. Photography’s nature entails this question, what is real and what is fiction; what is the depiction of someone or what is a projection of us on others? In my Master’s degree project at HDK-Valand, I worked on a photographic series about my relationship to my cousin and I problematized finding a balance between my subjective perspective and an actual representation of our connection. I think the overlapping of these two is unavoidable and this is something that fascinates me in photography; subjectivity when the medium itself is supposed to be about truthfulness.

COMA: How do you challenge or expand the boundaries of the medium in your work?

Eva: I would say that I want to explore the medium as a tool for something else, besides its obvious function to capture images. I am interested in what the camera does between two people, as an object, and how it can change their dynamic in a room.

Also, when I am working with staged photography, I sometimes feel like the camera is used for the documentation of a sculpture. Other times I feel like it is an active part of the image.

COMA: In projects like Present Griefs, Recent Disappointments, objects play a significant role in conveying deeper meanings. How do you approach selecting and working with these objects to create narratives?

Eva: I am drawn to the life of everyday objects. I adore still life paintings and paying attention to the details of a slow everyday moment. But I also conceptually appreciate the readymades. I think these two influences are pretty obvious in my series “Present Griefs, Recent Disappointments.”

When I select an object, it happens very naturally, it is usually a combination of observing the light at the moment, the material of the object and the placement of it. I always change the character of the object a little bit, its materiality, weight or shape, interfering with its purpose.

COMA: Let’s talk about the pieces you’re exhibiting with us. What do these artworks mean to you, and what inspired their creation?

Eva: They’re about playfulness and awkwardness during the puberty stage. Every piece is linked to a specific feeling or memory. It usually starts from a vague sense that I connect to a bodily experience. For example, the wet toilet paper is about sweating, the stretched pantyhose is about getting taller rapidly. I also work with symbols; the seashells appear in one of these pieces and they’re a recurring element in this series. Besides the known iconography of the seashell being connected to Venus and femininity, for me it is also a tribute to my childhood as I grew up in Greece searching for seashells every summer.

COMA: Could you walk us through the process of creating these works? What were you thinking or feeling during this process?

Eva: I usually do not think consciously about their meaning while making the images. I try to start with intuition and later reflect on them to get ideas for the next images. I shot these images both at my childhood home in Greece and in my apartment here in Sweden. This whole process to me is going back and forth between puberty and adulthood and maybe creating an in-between space where the same thoughts are being examined from different angles. I like to navigate between feeling ashamed and constructing nostalgia, trying to visually romanticize uncomfortable feelings, in order to reconcile with them.

COMA: How do you hope viewers will connect with or interpret the works you are presenting? Are there particular emotions or ideas you hope to evoke?

Eva: Not necessarily, but I would like my images to evoke a feeling of curiosity at first. And then I do not want to—and I don't think I can—guide anyone into anything more specific. I am always happy to hear other people’s reading of my work, and I often ask them for their interpretation before explaining my own. Most of them instantly find a link to femininity as a big part of the project (they’re right).

COMA: Projects like Present Griefs, Recent Disappointments explore self-doubt and reconciliation. How has your artistic practice helped you grow personally or process past experiences?

Eva: I feel that giving a form to “a cloud in the head” gives you control over it. So just by visualizing thoughts, I feel like I have more agency on how I feel about certain things. Besides that, I really enjoy the actual act of taking images so I guess connecting pleasure with a memory of a shameful experience can trigger the brain in different ways and change the emotional response to the memory a little bit.

COMA: You’ve exhibited across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Have these international opportunities shaped your perspective on your work or influenced your practice in any way?

Eva: Absolutely. I was recently in Japan for the launch of my zine. First of all, it is surreal to be so far away from home and present such a personal, intimate story. This gave me a new perspective on what I’m doing, and somehow everything clicked better. But most importantly, Tokyo was such a great source of inspiration for me and, even though I did not photograph a lot while I was there, I created many images in my apartment when I got back.

COMA: Are there cultural differences in how your work is received or interpreted in different parts of the world?

Eva: I am not sure if this counts as a cultural difference, but people often comment on the different light in my images based on where they are from. Greek people can identify whether an image is shot in Greece or in Sweden. The Mediterranean light is more dramatic in a way.

It’s funny—when I was living in Greece, I used flash more often. Since moving to Sweden, I find myself seeking natural light more, perhaps because I miss it. So, location has changed the way that I am working, but not in the way one might expect.

COMA: What are you currently working on, and what can we look forward to from you in the near future?

Eva: I will, at Studio Tabac, presenting my zine “Blyertspenna” which was published in Tokyo and then traveled to Polycopies in Paris. I am also working on something completely new, a dummy book in collaboration with Zoetrope in Athens. And I will definitely keep working on developing “Present Griefs, Recent Disappointments”!

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Stay tuned for more artist interviews and insights into our ongoing art drop (Season2). Visit our website and Instagram for the latest updates and to explore the incredible work of emerging artists like Eva Vei.

December, 2024 - COMA Editorial team