Unknown Stories #6 - Meet "Anna Malina"

Get to know Anna Malina in the newest Issue of Unknown Stories.

This is a new format in which I’ll present diverse members of the Web3 art community and their interesting stories to you.

The artist is part of the ongoing show “Echo Chambers” curated by myself and published with Accomparts with her piece “A Lifetime of Shells” (1/1, 0.05 ETH reserve)

ALifetimeOfShells.gif + ShellKnuckles.mp3 (best with 🎧)

electrify this hollowed body
ground up between reflections and echoes
a myriad of cast off shell shards

appropriated footage from Нет счастья на земле (1922), PS generative fill + editing, inkjet prints, sticky tape, collage animation; sound improvisation made with OnlineSequencer

Who is Anna Malina?

Anna Malina is an experimental artist working with self-portraiture & appropriated images, creating .gif animations, short films & music videos. She is heavily influenced by her exploration of cinema & moving image history, & obsessed with materiality, failures & absences.

What do you hope viewers will take away from your piece in the context of understanding or critiquing their own positions within echo chambers?

Maybe they feel as exhausted and we can relate to each other a little bit more.

Do you ever feel confined or limited by echo chambers on social media, and if so, how does this influence your artistic expression and your creative flow and the themes you choose for your art?

The idea of echo chambers seems to be used in a negative way most of the time, but I think it can be something positive too. If it echoes something that builds up good feelings or a positive kind of confidence in you and helps you find courage to do something creative, for example, then an echo chamber can be very useful for someone who doesn't experience this kind of reinforcement anywhere else. It surely helped me. Of course one has to stay alert and remain critical of oneself too. It's also easy to get carried away by group dynamics and trends and while participation and experimentation are important to not get stagnant, it's also crucial to not get hollowed out by these dynamics.

“mothnight” Edition of 1 minted on objkt

How do you see your role as an artist in relation to influencing or breaking out of echo chambers, particularly in the context of social media and digital expression?

As my art is mostly concerned with small and quiet things, with overlooked or forgotten cultural artifacts, I hope it can provide a little path to explore some things that are not loud or big or trendy.

What do you find most rewarding and most challenging about working in the NFT art space?

Personally and artistically, being amidst so very different people, and such a broad array of art, has made me so much more open to many things. The financial aspect of it is also very rewarding. But both things, the very different people that come together in this space and these new financial relations are also the most challenging.

What inspires you most as an artist, and how did these inspirations play into your work?

Art and culture inspires me to make art myself. Some art just moves me deeply and makes me grateful that it exists in the world, as it gives me something to be moved by, to relate to, to feel less alone or to discover or learn something new. And this is what I hope my art can be for someone else too.

Aside from visual art, are there other forms of art or media that influence your creative process? How do they manifest in your work?

Aside from films, all kinds of materials themselves are a big influence on my creative process, as I am often concerned with the idea of expressing something through a mixture of abstraction through materials and visual figuration.

Looking ahead, what future projects or ideas are you most excited about exploring in your artistic practice?

Right now I'm especially happy to be finished with my degree soon.

“tenderness” Edition of 1 minted on Foundation