ABOUT
PMF is a project of Varvara Tokareva, visual artist, printmaker and graphic designer. Currently lives and works in Wroclaw, Poland. What is the source of inspiration for many of my works? For that I explore the visual culture of The New East from the 90’s to the present. I use Appropriation as an artistic strategy in order to find the hidden meanings of particular images, which can still be found on the streets. These could be old fashioned advertisements, weird handwritten signs for navigation, trade, and advertising services and goods. Using these very basic and even outdated aesthetic landmarks, such visuals often look rude and rather inappropriate, incongruous in the second decade of the 21st century. However, many small business owners still use this style in order to attract customers. In this I find a conflict between old fashioned visuals and new norms of morality established by further generations: the digitally–raised so–called “Zoomers” , I am trying to capture a significant change within society. All mentioned examples will disappear very soon along with the holders of those old cultures. I travel a lot and always keep a journal of my visual experience by making photos of street signs, toponyms, partly destroyed banners, street art and even tags made with spray paint. These are the things I am usually searching for, and then I use these pictures as a starting point for my projects.