Ever since Louis Vuitton’s Fashion Eye Ukraine hit the stands, the world gained a pair of new art darlings – The Synchrodogs. And although the phenomenal coffee table book was a project that gained insurmountable amounts of publicity, Synchrodogs’ works have been some of the ambitious advocates in both arts and conservation industries. Hailing from Ukraine, the creative duo consists of Tania Schegolova and Roman Noven, who started working together back in 2008. The passion for art and photography, as well as fascination with nature was what brought the team together, leading to pages of ground-breaking works in photography and visual arts.
VALUES /// PROBLEMS
What are three fundamental values that you would like to embrace throughout your career?
First of all, we would like to inspire people to appreciate nature more and treat it with respect and care. Start with small things and educate kids to be loving and conscious. Second important thing for us as people is to equally take and give, as we cannot be using what life offers us and giving nothing in return, there should be a natural circulation of help and support. And the third thing that we consider important, is for people to always be kind to each other, supportive no matter what differences are between us. Always remain humane.
What are three relevant problems that you wish to solve or improve with the help of your work?
First would be responsible behaviour, as we often find plastic garbage in nature or see people hunting wild animals in the mountain district where we live just to make a stuffed animal figure. Once we even found a burning tree in the forest and had to put off the fire that was left by people after having a picnic. All these situations make us think that people need to be brought up from the very childhood in an absolutely different manner, more future-oriented in ecological sense. Second thing we always wanted to show with our art was that there basically are no boundaries and you can fulfil even the wildest and most complicated ideas, just start working on it and trust yourself. If you have an idea in mind and you are convinced it has a potential to become something really big and beautiful - go for it! And the third thing we would like to say is that there is no need to mark yourself with only one sphere or genre, you can experiment working with art and fashion, music, CGI and many other things you like, connecting them, creating something innovative on the intersection of it all.
Synchrodogs answers questions related to our #ASK campaign
How significant is a multi-disciplinary portfolio within the design world where various fields intersect? Question asked by Jonny, Photographer & DJ, Las Vegas
Indeed, it is better to always grow, learn new things, experiment. You can be a photographer, but also be able to add some artistic touches and create a mixed media project, or video, be an art director (which requires communication and leadership skills as well). No need to put yourself into a position of being a single-function professional.
Will the work and identity of artists change as being physically seen by the critic and spectator diminishes? Question asked by Rachel Pozivenec, Mask Maker & Multimedia Artist, Oakland
On one hand it diminishes, but on the other we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of making personal contacts in real life. Magazine publication opportunities may find you on the internet, but a lot of really big career steps depend on meeting people and establishing friendly relationships in real life. Going back to the question - the work and identity of artists will always change as the time moves forward. Can you track the difference in how it looked 20 years ago, how it looks now, and how it will look like in 20 years? The environment changes, causing new generations of people to create something absolutely new, and we think it doesn't depend that much on whether it is seen physically or via the Internet. It is just how things work.
Progress. Progress. Progress. Progress.Progress. Progress. The end. Why are we so afraid of time?
Question asked by Jennifer Abessira, Image Creator, Tel Aviv
We are humans, we love finding fulfilment and knowing somebody appreciates our work. After all, we spend so much time developing ourselves and working on our dreams to come true - who wouldn’t like to see progress? Patience is the other question, we all carry it differently.
How can we digitise an aura? Question asked by Sasponella, Artist, NYC
The question is - why should we? Aura is something people feel being near us, it can be calm and soothing, can be radiant and cheerful, or can be restless, it is the matter of feeling rather than its possible to watch how it looks like. Pretty sure we can relate some color associations to depict aura, like cheerful=yellow, but anyway its main function is not met when digitized.
SUCCESS
What is your definition of success?
Success for us is when we are proud of ourselves, suffice to say, it doesn’t happen often. We recently caught ourselves feeling so when our book was published by Louis Vuitton, as we were working on a project for several years. This feeling also comes when we win some art competition or contest, as being selected by a respected jury from a huge number of photographers usually serves as affirmation for us to let us know we are on the right track and do something innovative.
SUCCESS /// FAILURE
You can feel the failure for some moment only if you are impatient. Failure can become a huge success if you continue trying and don't give up. SUCCESS /// RESPONSIBILITY
We believe that success only comes if you are consistent and don’t bring other people down, if we are talking about a long-lasting one. We all live in a community where everybody relies on one another in some way, so being responsible and thinking about other people will do you good. SUCCESS /// PROGRESS
The progress is already a success itself, as you move towards your goals. There is no guarantee that if at this moment you become rich, popular or famous you will feel happiness for a long time, because where should you move from now on? We love feeling steady progress, and, if at some point, life seems too flat or calm, we initiate new complicated projects where we have to study day and night to make it happen, just to generate a new flow of progress that would lead to new heights. More about Synchrodogs:
Website https://synchrodogs.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/synchrodogs_official/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Synchrodogs Twitter https://twitter.com/synchrodogs Tumblr https://synchrodogs.tumblr.com/
This interview contributes to a new media format, where Creatives are in full control of their narratives. By exploring alternatives to narrative journalism, GAHSP starts unconventional conversations, emphasizing values and problems that shape our lives collectively.
Written and Edited by Julia Horvath and Gennady Oreshkin
Image Courtesy of Synchrodogs