Dasha Shleyeva

"My Headphones," by Dasha Shleyeva

Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, DASHA SHLEYEVA moved to the United States when she was nine, two years after the fall of Communism. Her upbringing within two separate cultures has shaped her art, music and poetry strongly in an attempt to understand her own identity, perspectives on living, culture and people. Within her art, she focuses on the coexistence of humanity and nature and how people can pose a threat and create need for adaptations within nature, as well as the beautiful intermingling and contrast it sometimes creates. She adores folklore, exploring and expounding on traditions and stories people carry with them from generation to generation. Through her art, she yearns to move people into weaving their own story, to get lost in their environment and organic shapes and forms. She utilizes motion and reacting emotion in hopes of making it a perhaps thoroughly vulnerable experience for the viewer, or perhaps for another story to unfold in turn. You can view some of her work at her website, dashadraws.com.