The Mesmerising World of Anna Pogossova
Meet the artist capturing Liberty pieces in her signature surrealist style
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The Mesmerising World of Anna Pogossova
Meet the artist capturing Liberty pieces in her signature surrealist style
Encountering Anna Pogossova’s work feels a bit like being hypnotised. Her images capture objects that are both beautiful and familiar, transforming them into something mesmerising and otherworldly. Pieces of delicate jewellery become talismans, glittering against a background of rich, saturated colour. A bottle of fragrance is seen from an unusual angle, like a sculpture or an ancient relic.
Based in Sydney, Pogossova has developed a style that’s uniquely her own, using a combination of physical and digital media to create her unforgettable images. One day she might pick up a camera, the next she might use AI, or sculpt something from clay. “It’s a matter of what is the best tool for the job,” she explains. I’m not emotionally attached to any of the tools, analogue or digital. They’re just a means to create.”
During a recent visit to London, Anna collaborated with Liberty to capture the best of The Fragrance Lounge and the Liberty jewellery collection in her signature dreamlike style. Here, she tells us more about her artistic journey, and the process behind her work.
How would you describe your work?
Expanded photomedia. My work always starts with an image but might land somewhere completely different in the process of making that image.
What inspired you to follow an artistic career? Was there a particular person, artwork or experience that left a strong impression on you at a formative age?
I have a core memory of this moment. It was an illustration of a seal, and as a little kid, I thought it was fantastic; so amazing and real! I loved drawing and felt very motivated and inspired by the possibility of creating a life-like seal myself. But my seal turned out as mere scribbles. I was so frustrated and confused by the disconnect between my mind and my hand.
Until that moment, I didn’t understand that there was some kind of mastery and control that was needed to bring an image to life; that you can’t just will things into existence. It really lit a fire in me - I just wanted to learn and to try until it felt right. And I still feel that same feeling now, where I want to close the gap between an imagined thing in my mind, and its tangible execution. It’s that which propels me forward in my work.
What was your route to get to where you are now?
It was quite linear. I studied Fine Art and started working in magazine publishing when I graduated, which exposed me to commercial and fashion photography. I’ve always tried to align the two worlds.
How or when did you feel like you’d really found your style?
I think my style is more connected to ideas and approach than it is to an aesthetic, so the execution always shifts. But the core ideas developed whilst I was studying Fine Art. Something clicked and I arrived at what felt like ‘me’ in terms of interests and reference points. And those have remained with me for life.
What are the tools of your practice and how do you use them?
I’ve been fascinated by technology since I was very little, so it has always been in conversation with everything I’m doing. I’m in a unique position as a Millennial where technology - the internet, digital imaging, personal computers - grew up and evolved alongside me. At the same time, I was taught the analogue equivalent of everything I know in the digital space. That means everything is in play; physical and digital, and they’re very connected for me.
At the moment, sometimes I make images with a camera and sometimes without. I use AI and 3D modelling, but I also sculpt in clay, stone, plaster and resin. Sometimes my physical hand is the best tool and sometimes it’s the computer. It’s a matter of what is the best tool for the job at any given time. I’m not emotionally attached to any of the tools, analogue or digital. They’re just a means to create, and so they’re interchangeable for me.
You collaborated with set designer Chloé Guerbois on the Liberty shoot. How does this collaboration work and what are the kind of conversations you have prior to the shoot?
I love working with Chloe; it always feels very intuitive. For the Liberty jewellery images [dropping from January], I wanted to start with the Liberty prints themselves, which referenced and stylised aspects of the natural world. So that was the prompt I presented to Chloe - art imitating life and life imitating art. Then we brainstorm and feel it out. We’ll define the broad strokes, but also leave space to play and experiment on the day.
What are the kind of objects you’re drawn to, or love to shoot?
Still life is very coded; it’s really concerned with talking about things without talking about things, where objects are the means of communication. So I’m drawn to things which are highly symbolic or archetypal. Amphoras, chalices, rings, spheres and mirrors all give me that feeling of old mythologies hiding in plain sight.
Are there any that are surprisingly challenging?
There’s a rule - or more of a curse - where my favourite piece will be the hardest to shoot. And will usually be the one that gets culled from the final edit! It’s because I often approach them with a really clear idea and high expectations. This can actually make the process more rigid, and the result often can’t live up to what I’ve built up in my mind.
How do you want people to feel when they encounter your work?
I want people to feel a sense of familiarity in something that’s a bit unfamiliar. Like an uncanny feeling - you can’t quite put your finger on why it feels that way, but it still makes sense.
Which artists are inspiring you right now?
Mike Kelley, always and forever. Also a lot of emerging artists that I find online.
What’s been your career highlight to date?
Sharing my work with the world.
Keep an eye out for more of Anna’s artwork showcasing the new Liberty jewellery collection in 2025.
