“Makeup is proof that the world is flexible, like plasticine.” In Sofya’s World, makeup is applied like a second skin; the skin we choose as our final frontier by which we navigate the complexities of our realities.

Her looks are characterised by their bold colours swirling in precise patterns, resembling stencils from ancient tribal tattoos to the bodywork of racing cars. Sofya is also committed to body positivity and diversity through honouring the blemishes and marks we usually regard as flaws. Her application of makeup is not intended to conceal, but instead, celebrate the dimensions of ourselves we are so often taught to hide.

Sofya envisages a future beauty based on “simplicity, self-care, and speed” as a way to transcend beyond temporal consciousness and embrace queer identities.

Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Describe who you are and what you do in your own words.

My name is Sofya and I’m a 20-year-old director and makeup artist from Russia.

I have lived most of my life in the outskirts so I know the country from different angles. In my art, I review the violent and harsh nature of everyday experience, whilst exploring aspects of eroticism, queer identities and dream about our future.

My main themes are often about fight, pain, strength and revenge.

Day-to-day, who or what inspires you? Do you have any current muses?

Women, paintings, old posters, laughter, tears, and life around me. As for social media, I don’t really like to spend much time there, especially when I strive to create something new and beyond what already exists there.

My main inspiration is human faces and their life stories: cellulite, unrequited love, even extending to nature videos with monkeys or sea animals.

I create and become inspired only after feelings of intensity have subsided and I feel empty. So I love everything that helps me to relax, before big projects; I watch TV series’s such as ’Supernatural’ and think about nothing.

How has living in Moscow affected your work?

I moved here when I was 17, right after living in a small town populated by 30,000 people — We didn’t have any cosmetic shops like NYX — not even a McDonald’s! Also, I lived in an abusive family, so Moscow provided me with a sense of freedom and paradise. After moving, I immediately started my makeup career and am now growing as a director. The capital and people here in Moscow have given me the opportunities which I dreamed about for those first 17 years. I continue to dream and hope to leave the country one day, in particular, to visit London.

What are you trying to communicate through your work and why?

I want to destroy a little bit of cruelty, anger, homophobia, judgements and violence, (or at least of that around me) and try to bring awareness to the right to be free.

Makeup is proof that the world is flexible, like plasticine. Makeup, acting, directing, and character transformations are all about this plasticity and ability to be anyone you want to be. It’s about happiness to be alive. I congratulate everyone on being born.

Also, I explore our nowadays and look at the Internet and find all these new technologies magical. It’s crazy and insane. I study people’s faces for hours for the purpose of making them different (similar to that of a shaman or a tribe witch). I touch them with my paints and then let thousands of people see the result and maybe even feel something with my work. Isn’t that connection and opportunity magic? I still can’t believe the Internet exists. I want to happily cry each time I use my phone and sometimes I quite literally will hug it!

What is it about makeup that entices you so strongly?

The feeling of giving birth to an unknown character; this feeling that you are going to create something and you can’t help what is the main reason I am so drawn to makeup. The only way to stop this itch is to paint, to create. I use makeup as a source of meditation.

When do you feel the most beautiful?

In the morning after productive work, hard sex and good sleep.

What has been your career highlight so far and what do you hope to ultimately accomplish?

I felt my makeup career highlight a couple of years ago in the beginning when I loved makeup only. I created something new every day, devoted all my energy and thoughts to it and the world gave me huge feedback. My work garnered lots of attention, being frequently published on accounts such as Dazed Beauty. I loved the routine of being on set shooting every day, seeing fans’ portraits, and achieving full happiness.

But then it eventually stopped being enough for me and I decided to start over, now as an artist and director.

I never thought I would be a makeup artist or move to Moscow or work with people I couldn’t dream about even getting acquainted with. So I have a rule to not wish. But now I just want to be a music video director and photo art director, before hopefully continuing my career in London.

Can you tell us about your latest project: “SISTERS”? How did this come about?

While building my makeup career I studied film directing. Nobody knew about my directing potential and after one year of studying, I got tired of it and decided to make my video and photo debut. I reached out to some international artists and designers, of whom I could have only dreamed of working with at the time and they all agreed to collaborate! They sent me their items and the project took off from there. I had been a fan of the whole team since I was a little girl and at the time I was still only 19-years-old among mature professionals. It was both the greatest and scariest way to start my journey as a director. I also worked as an art director and general producer with a photographer I was following when lived in my little town at 14. The photos were made by my drawings, sketches. Also, @metapoint.xyz gave me his trust and created his work by my sketches and drawings too. I still can’t believe this project came true.

SISTERS is a fashion story about the electronic witches of the future. The project includes a video and a photo series. The action takes place in the distant future, where the electronic revolution prevails over magic.

The last Sabbath decides to sacrifice itself to transfer all his strength to its younger sister and continue the struggle for mysticism in this world.

In this project, I turn to the topic of the struggle of queer personalities and their experiences of rejection in society. The whole world is an approved paradise, but there is no place for you and your magic. At the same time, it's all about feminism: about strong women willing to sacrifice themselves for the future of their sisters.

How does the process of working for commissions differ from working for art's sake?

I like both. The two types of works just have different motivations for me: they manifest as artistic capital or financial capital. I love both art and money!

What does the future of beauty look like to you?

Simplicity, self-care, speed.

In future we will press the button (or just think of it) and then appear at the online work call, for example, laying at the same time on the beach. What we call Instagram ‘filters’ or ‘masks’ will be our everyday makeup and makeup artists will sell their works this way. But many people will be tired of living exclusively online and so offline makeup will still be relevant but as an expensive luxury.

In the next two years I see something natural and playing with textures … liquids, silicones, etc … Until then I shall keep enjoying my offline non-verbal meditative makeup communications whilst I still can.