Read on as Sofiya Shukhova and Alicia Hayden discuss their artistic vision, process, and what marine “artivism” means to them.

You also create pieces about terrestrial wildlife; how does the process differ depending on whether your subject is land-based or marine-based?
Honestly, not much. I moved away from creating very detailed, realistic illustrations of species to more conceptual works focusing on conservation topics. So, in that sense, the process is very similar whether I make art about terrestrial or marine species. I get inspired, do research, think about the concept and create.
Having said that, I will admit that it is probably slightly easier for me to play with the form, texture and positioning of terrestrial mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and birds than marine creatures. I had more encounters with the animals on land than in the sea, so I am slightly less familiar with the movement and behaviours of certain marine species.

What do you want the general public to take away from your pieces?
I want people to get curious when seeing my works, to start asking questions, learning about conservation issues and, of course, to act. I understand that not everyone will be able to change their behaviour overnight. Still, I hope that my art will contribute to their journey of learning and understanding issues, becoming more informed and caring. I believe that my works and wildlife artivism in general have a better chance to spark a change than 'old-school' wildlife art. Realistic paintings or naturalist illustrations are needed for showing the beauty and diversity of the natural world, but they are not enough for revealing what is wrong with human-other species relationships. I do not care whether my art is pleasing or not to the eyes of the viewers. It is way more important for me to create a piece that grasps attention, sparks curiosity, and leads to a change. 

Where do you get inspiration for your work?

The natural world! Especially when I’m going for walks around my local area, I tend to dream up artwork and poetry based on what I see around me. For example, I recently created a mini-collection of poems “Tales of the Forgotten Wood”, all of which were written on walks around a magical woodland in Cornwall I visited this summer! I then drew illustrations to accompany the poems based on photos I took while I was there.

Tales of the Forgotten Wood is available to read here: https://aliciahaydenportfolio.wordpress.com/mini-collections/ 

When creating my wildlife artivism pieces, I am more intrigued and inspired by research about conservation issues. As a biologist, I enjoy researching my topics in scientific papers and journals, before finding a way to communicate this information through art.

How are your drawings and poetry contributing to marine conservation? 

I really love drawing marine organisms; I find them so beautiful and satisfying to recreate through my artwork. Marine organisms are also affected by a plethora of threats, which I like trying to represent through wildlife artivism pieces. Wildlife artivism pieces tend to be more powerful than ordinary wildlife art pieces, and often have an explicit message about conservation, aimed at motivating people to change things in their everyday lives, or if that’s not possible, to generate more awareness about the issues faced by marine life, so governments and organisations can trigger change. Some of my favourite marine wildlife artivism pieces include “When the Whale Sang”, which won David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021 “Human Impact” category, and was awarded the inaugural Ingrid Beazley Award; as well as “Bottlefish”, “Oily Fish”, and “Who turned on the lights?”

My poetry, like my artwork, varies in the tone it takes about an environmental issue. Some of my pieces are celebratory, whereas others are sadder, and draw attention to the destruction faced by our natural world - such as “The Whale’s Song”, “Plastic Bag”, and “Hitchhiker”. I hope that by varying my tone, different poems will speak to different people, meaning more people become aware of the issues faced by our marine wildlife.

 What are the main differences between creating visual art and writing about marine wildlife? How does your process change depending on the medium? 

I feel like when I write about marine wildlife, I have a bit more flexibility, and can involve more imaginative elements! With visual art, I am constrained by reference images, as I like to make my art as realistic as possible - with poetry, this isn’t the case. Depending on the topic, my poetry is either more whimsical, such as “Urban Hares”, or more hard-hitting, like “Moon, moon, where is the sea?” than my artwork.

My process also varies quite significantly! Poems tend to be quite spontaneous - often I think of ideas while I’m on a walk and quickly jot them down; and I tend to write several poems in one sitting. My visual art normally requires significantly more planning before hand - particularly my marine artivism pieces, which I normally brainstorm with my partner and do preliminary sketches of, before creating the final piece!

What are the main challenges in creating art about marine wildlife?

I find that trying to capture movement and the likeness of the species is particularly tricky, especially when I haven’t seen the species in the wild. I like trying to depict the behaviour and character of my wildlife subject, and this is definitely harder when I haven’t seen the species! 

One of the other main challenges is selecting the right media for the piece. When working on artwork depicting marine wildlife, I often gravitate towards biro, as it helps replicate their smooth yet surprisingly patterned skin - but for some pieces, I’ve discovered that more liquid media, such as inks, are more effective!

What is your most exciting encounter with marine wildlife, and how has it impacted your work? 

Living in the UK means that I haven’t encountered marine wildlife as much as I’d have liked to, so in general my work is more aspirational with regards to subject! Having said this, one of my recent exciting encounters with marine wildlife was watching a pod of common dolphins in Scotland this summer, which inspired me to write a poem and create a small accompanying illustration about their movement. In the future, I would absolutely love to see a humpback whale. I think they are so magnificent and beautiful - so peaceful and omniscient - I would love to see one up close.