Dasha Pears

SOULBASE Talk:

Psychorealism Art

Does travel always have to mean visiting a physical place? What if travel could also mean allowing our mind to wander? Conceptual art – art that invites you to dream, to express, to let time be time and to hold space for your emotions and interpretation – is another form of travel. It’s a psychological state of travel, a beautiful inner state of travel. Dasha Pears, an award-winning conceptual photo artist based in Helsinki, Finland, creates work that is focused on daily emotional matters, our inner world and on self-discovery. Her artwork pieces together portrait surrealism, minimalism and digital manipulation to create a surreal universe where our mind finds itself in a beautiful psychological state where expression matters is up to one’s self. Dasha’s art is whimsical, beautiful and has a soothing effect. It has been exhibited numerous times in many countries, such as France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Finland, Israel, The United States and more. In 2023, she will have group exhibits in Missouri, USA; a solo exhibit at The Tint Gallery in San Francisco, USA; a group exhibit in Italy and a group exhibit in Korea.

Why do you think surrealism is, for you, the best tool for storytelling?

Because it offers the easiest way to surprise people. And this is what I am after.

You exhibit your photography and sell it in limited editions. When did you recognize that there was demand for your work and when did you decide to sell your art?

I think the demand became visible from recognition on social media. That is, it became clear that people want to see more clean, organized and surprising imagery every day. To be completely honest, I am still very surprised and honored by the fact that so many people resonate with my weirdness – so much so that they want to have a piece of it in their homes.

My decision to start selling was out of curiosity: I saw other people in my field doing it and they encouraged me to do the same, which I did without much expectation.

In your photography, you address psychology, emotions and things that have a deeper meaning but that still reflect daily life. What is your approach to addressing these topics and are they inspired by personal experience?

I think that any self-started (not commissioned) art is very personal; otherwise, an artist would not be motivated to create it. So, for me, it turns out that my art is a way to process my internal struggles, deal with my own emotions and basically calm myself down first of all. My artworks are twisted self-portraits with other people’s faces in them instead of my own.

Simple question: When you think about your day today, how are you doing? How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling calm and relaxed – curious and happy to explore new things without putting too much pressure on myself. This is my favorite state to be in.

Dasha, 10 years ago you started out as a photographer. What brought you to photography and how long did it take you to find your niche?

It took me at least eight years. And I think I'm still searching, though now I’m much more confident in terms of what I am searching for. The thing that brought me to photography was a need to capture the beautiful things that fascinated me – the things that others seemed not to notice and simply pass by. I wasn’t at all trying to create new worlds as I do now. I was simply watching the world around me and trying to seize my impressions, very much like a butterfly collector catching the pretty insects.

You are a conceptual photographer of surrealism. Creating your shoots involves weeks of planning. When you create a composition, how do you know what topic you would like to explore?

The final topics actually come way after the material is shot. I allow my camera, my model and my editing to take me to new, unexplored places. I might have an initial idea of course, but it gets corrected by the real world and how things work out on location and in my mind when I edit the shots. So, the topics come from whatever my mind is occupied with at the moment of digital development of the photos. It might be aligned with what I had in mind previously, or sometimes it is completely the opposite. In some cases, I have to come back to a work I created a week or a month ago with a better understanding of what I want it to be about. But in the end, my interpretation should not matter very much for the viewer, as anyone will see something of his or her own in my creations.

As consumers, we typically only see the final product of artists. How much time does the processing, printing, packaging and behind the scenes admin work involve for you?

It does take a lot of time, but I’m also lucky to work with professionals (for example, in the printing space) that make my life a little easier. I make it a point to produce bespoke pieces. Each is hand-signed and is unique, although I call it a limited edition. It has a unique number, signature and production date. I don’t do bulk orders from printers. If you buy artwork from me, it will be produced and signed especially for you. This is valuable to me and my collectors, and I see it as a part of the art itself, so I don’t complain about spending extra time here.

Are you doing all the work on your own or do you have a team that supports you? When did you know it was time to outsource or get more help with your daily tasks while growing the business organically?

I have a small team working with me to support the business routines so that I have more time to focus on the art itself. The moment I found myself only selling and not creating was disturbing, so I had to quickly figure out how to find people to help me do the necessary repetitive work so that I could go back to my art.

How important is a social media presence for you and do you fall in the comparison trap from time to time?

Frankly speaking, I don’t enjoy social media. I find it boring most of the time, or overwhelming, depending on the platform. As for comparison, I think I still unconsciously compare my achievements to those of other artists, but I’m getting better and better at dissolving that by reminding myself that each of us is on his own journey and any comparisons are simply stupid as we haven't started from the same place, background, education level, etc

What would you like to be asked more often?

Smart questions that I haven’t been asked before and that I wouldn’t think to ask myself. I love those.

You are based in Finland with your family. Do you mostly create your compositions in Finland?

I sometimes shoot while I travel, but all the editing is done in Helsinki.

You are a mother of two. How do you balance running your art business and parenthood?

It’s a constant learning curve, as both of those fields are constantly changing: kids grow, their interests and demands change, the business has to develop to sustain us and I have to learn to be good at both every day. There’s just no other option.

If someone was struggling to make a full-time income with art and asked you for advice, what would you tell them?

It’s a constant struggle, because there are no guarantees, ever. Even the most famous Hollywood actors who make millions and billions can be “canceled” and lose everything in a day. So, my general advice (to myself as well) would be to become financially literate and learn to deal with money in general so that you don’t have to struggle in life and put all the pressure of money making on your art.

What makes you happy?

It depends on what you mean by “happy.” :) My daughter’s smile, a bowl of chocolate ice cream, an interesting conversation, a long walk along the beach and knowing that I’ve just created something really cool that hasn’t existed before – those are the things that bring me joy. Happiness is maybe something that I have yet to fully understand and discover.

@dashapears.art