u/olchai_mp3

Source: https://doyouneedafriend.substack.com

“The question “Do you need a friend” is actually impossible to answer. Because what kind of friend do we want but more importantly; what kind of friend are we willing to be? How ready are we to be loved by something we can’t explain. And how ready are we to return that possible love that is actually all around us?

Now look at your almost finished friend, at the object (because that is what it is) and try to see if you really built a connection with it. With something that is inanimate, unalive, at the first look. Then think about the friend you are. Not only to this object but to everything around you that maybe doesn’t pass as human or even cute. Where would you think you could be more humane towards something that isn’t reflecting yourself back at you?

Make a list of the things you can think of. Set a timer. Write for ten minutes. See what comes to your mind. Not as a list of failures, just research on yourself. You don’t even have to tell your friend. But maybe you should.”

Instagram: alisherik

Website: https://alisherkushakov.com/

Oil on canvas

Isabella Rossellini performed her own in-character vocals for the rendition of "Blue Velvet" in the 1986 David Lynch film

“Victor Sheleg is a contemporary Latvian artist. His personal viewpoint, which examines the conformist culture of the society he encounters before transforming it into a fascinating artistic aesthetic, serves as the foundation for his creative outlook. His shadowy, suggestive portrayals of women strike an intriguing mix between conformity and freedom in both form and content.

Victor Sheleg was born in 1962. He lives and works in Latvia. Sheleg exhibited his works in Latvia, Russia, Finland, USA, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Polan, Italy, and has taken part in numerous important art fairs, including: Art Ireland, Dublin, Art Zurich International, Art Edinburgh, The Affordable Art Fair, London, Art Melbourne, Affordable Art Fair, Paris, Glasgow Art Fair, Edinburgh Art Fair, Affordable Art Fair Brussels, AAF NYC, AAF Amsterdam. Over the years from 1990 to 2023, Viktor Sheleg created more than 2300 paintings, and almost all of them are in private collections.”