Words. Still from the video Artwork

Lira Kay was born in St Petersburg. Before moving to England, as well as studying Art, she graduated as a psychologist and teacher and also worked for a local television company as a news reporter and presenter. She has actively participated in several art projects, including workshops, teaching Art and exhibiting in Contemporary Art galleries and museums in East Europe, England, Germany and France. Lira is represented by galleries in London, York and Barcelona. She have won the Regional Prize for East Anglia at The Discerning Eye Exhibition at The Mall Gallery in 2005 in London. Had been working in Kensington and Chelsea College studios in 2006-2007 and studied film making in Central Saint Martins college of Art and Design, London. Sins March 2008 lives in Marseille, France and runs a Marseille Project Gallery with seasonal art exhibitions and film screenings. ARTIST STATEMENT Lira Kay's films are rooted in deep reflectiveness, and it is of significance that her educational background includes the study of Psychology. She also uses meditative techniques to evoke the deep energies which underpin her work. The viewer will be struck by the boldness and freedom of her paintings, her images show a vibrant appreciation of the power of colour to communicate energy. Her work is largely intuitive, and often centres on archetypal images, sometimes with a Shamanic influence, sometimes acting like mandalas or Russian icons, providing a meditative focus for the viewer. From 2008 Lira Kay mostly concentrates on film making. She has been working on series of video and sound installations, documentaries, short films, animation and music videos. Her short films are often like snapshots of life, reflections on key experiences and feelings everyone goes through. They start you thinking and feeling. They bring in the most intimate feelings to do with the spiritual, moral and physical aspects of our lives. Lira creates original music for most of her films and sometimes collaborates with other contemporary musicians. She considers sound to be very important part of conceptual representation. In some films she uses lack of sound, the silence to emphasise dramatic effect of a story. Her cinematographic style can be recognised like her paintings by often being strikingly beautiful and visually memorable.
http://www.lirakay.com/ http://marseille-project-gallery.intrit.com/