Today we present a very intimate interview with artist Nika Sandler.

Nika Sandler is an artist working with photography and text. She explores the themes of human and non-human gaze, gender, pleasure, creepy and disgusting. She was published in the magazines i-D, Libération, Der Greif, Phroom Platform, Calvert Journal, Metal Magazine, L'Oeil de la Photographie, BROAD, Bird in Flight, FK Magazine, Grandmama's Print, Float Magazine, etc. She is also the winner of the Small File Photo Festival 2023 organized by The Photographers' Gallery.

On New Year's Eve, I made a wish to immerse myself forever in the sensations that I experienced while taking tranquilizers. I wanted to fall into a sweet sleep and not face reality anymore. In an effort to forget myself, I was trapped in a depressive hedonia, which Mark Fisher described in "Capitalist Realism" as an inability to do anything other than the search for pleasure. In this series, I depict different types of pleasures and the states associated with them. I create still lifes and environments from objects and substances that are associated with something pleasant and seductive, and sometimes creepy.

Thank you for joining us today Nika, would you mind sharing with us some of your career highlights and how you got into photography?

The idea of taking up photography came to me at a psychiatrist's appointment. I needed to divert my attention from obsessive suicidal thoughts. Photography was the first thing that came to my mind. This activity has been a lifesaver for me.

Your greatest inspirations or influences?

• Animals inspire me, especially cats. I want to be a cat when I grow up :))

• When I see creepy and disgusting images, I want to create.

• I can endlessly look at the work of Maisie Cousins, Lucile Boiron and Christto and Andrew.

Tell us about your creative process.

I work at home at night, alone, drunk. I use improvised items to create works. Then I spend a long time editing photos.

What do you think about AI in this industry and the future for artists?

• I watch with interest the development of AI and its impact on the activities of artists.

• I'm impressed by the work of Charlie Engman, "The Meat Paradox" by Florian Maas and "Image Eaters" by Maria Mavropoulou.

• I am drawn to the creative union of human and non-human agents. Curious to see what it will lead to in the future.

What does wellbeing mean to you?

Unattainable, impossible, unreal.

Anything else you would like to share?

Thank you Leila for this artist interview. I really appreciate receiving feedback, so if readers want to write to me, I'll be very happy to chat with you