Tania Leshkina is an 18-(18!)-year-old photographer, artist, and student who lives in Moscow, which to us is like living on Mars. We discovered her work recently and, like, wow. Martians are talented!Vice: Hi, how are you?Tania Leshkina:Iām tired, tired, tired. Iāve been trying to finish my diploma plus doing some personal projects. So Iāll be spending the whole week doing shoots.So youāre studying? Is it an art school?Yep. Iām in my third year of college studying photography, but itās not the same as a BA. Iāve only just turned 18. In my college, they think I canāt shoot. They are people born in the Soviet times. All the professors are old and canāt understand what Iām doing.Can I ask you where you get your inspirations?Experience! I started shooting and expressing myself before I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I donāt know. Depression. Medications and hospitals and a really hard time. Isolation! Iām in love with every day. Really.Maybe you should drop out of college and just work.If I do drop out of college, Iāll go live in the mountains and check my email very rarely.When and how did you start taking pictures?I was in the hospital and my parents brought me a camera.How are you feeling now?I donāt know. Iām not sure that Iām ill. Iāve been taking pills every day since I was 13. I keep changing medicationsāit started with carbamazepine, like Ian Curtis. But anyway, I started shooting myself and the other wardmates when I was 14.Most of your photosāall of my favorite ones, to be honestāare shot inside in your bedroom. Why is that? Is it because Russia is cold and people canāt really go out without freezing?Itās not cold so much as itās gray. No sunlight, and Iām a white maniac. Youāve probably noticed, I think. I hate the winter in Moscow, and I love to spend it in other places. Itās not freezing but itās a spinning feeling like it will never end. Also it gets dark so early and you see the sun in very small doses. I was born in Khabarovsk and during the winter they have lots of snow. My mom used to take my brother and me to painting classes through all of this. I want to thank my daddy since next winter Iāll be in London. In September, Iāll start studying sculpture at the Wimbledon College of Art.Did you ever wonder why you take so many photos of yourself?Iāve thought a lot about why self-portraits are my main thing. With every picture you try to recognize yourself, to understand that youāre still here. You know, some people donāt trust mirrors. Sometimes I shoot friends, but thatās also like a self-portrait. But Iām not obsessed with myself. Girls always shoot themselves.
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