GENES # 9 - Anastasia Vedmedenko (@shyfuck)
An interview with a Vancouver tattoo artist talking about art, activity, and unraveling the stories of her two favorite bags; one, a long time essential, the other, a new form of artistic expression.
This is the 9th installment in my series called GENEs where I interview locals I have met over my time taking photos in “east vancouver” and unravel the stories behind their favorite things.
To check out the previous interviews covering a range of clothing with gorgeous stories, see the link here.
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Back in 2018, I came across Anastasia’s Instagram page. I don’t remember exactly how I got there, but I do recall being enamored by the art she had been sharing at the time. I was initially attracted to the darker nature of some of the images she was posting, they were mysterious, sad but strikingly beautiful, with a hint of sci-fi and an odd, but subdued, humor and humility to them.
I have been watching closely as her work has changed and evolved over the last six years, from these small dark and edgy paintings to large and voluminous works of art. She has flowed from working part-time jobs in the city and doing art and commissions on the side to now, being a highly in-demand tattoo artist traveling and expressing her art with permanence on some of the coolest people in a city near you.
At one point, when I first started following her art, she had shared some photographs that she drew on with a whiteout pen and I knew I had to have one. I was just starting to dabble in my "art” at the time and I had some skate “miss-shots” I had recently taken and thought they’d work well as an opportunity to collaborate. I DM’d her and asked if I could commission a few photos to be drawn on. She agreed and I sent her some copies and we met up at Trout Lake to exchange a few days later. I remember the meeting being really quick as she was on her way somewhere else, but I was nervous, feeling like I had met one of my art idols IRL, I awkwardly asked her for a photo as she walked away.
As time went on, we kept in touch through messages back and forth admiring one another’s work, and I attended a couple of her art shows and purchased a couple pieces.
Our interactions have always been in passing, and for about a year I had only been taking photos of Anastasia behind glass, a strange occurrence, but we’d have these really quick but sweet interactions where there was always a pane of glass between us and then I’d go months without seeing her again.
Then, in late 2021, I asked if she would be interested in collaborating on a sticker design. We had sent a couple messages and emails back and forth, but it seemed like her tattooing was really picking up momentum and I wasn’t sure if she’d have the time to get anything back to me, but I was really hopeful as I had been such a fan I was really looking forward to seeing her put her own spin on a sticker design for me.
I was so blown away when a few weeks later, she sent me an email with a few colour variations of what has now become my most popular sticker, and what is also my go to logo for all of my social media accounts. I also ended up using four other variations to represent the four seasons on the cover of my first published book highlighting the best photos of 2022 (few copies still available here).
When I first started GENEs, Anastasia was definitely on my original list, so I’ve been trying to find the right time to sit down with her as I knew she’d have something unique to share.
Although we’ve talked and collaborated in the past, it’s always been at a distance so I was super grateful when we were finally able to nail down a date and she invited me up to her tattoo studio in Chinatown. I grabbed some chicken steam and coconut buns on my way over and headed up the stairs into the multi-level heritage building that now hosts an array of different artists doing their own thing.
Art & Activity
Currently, Anastasia is really finding her stride in her community. Feeling at home with like-minded individuals at her new studio, she is blossoming into a very in-demand tattoo artist, while still being able to work on her visual art and find time to stay active.
As someone with no tattoo’s, we started the conversation off talking about my lack there of. Although she was surprised, given my demographic and interests, she boosted my confidence when she eventually said “…I guess that’s kind of counter-culture now.” I definitely appreciated the sentiment. She taught me some of her perspectives on her own tattoos; the concepts of permanence and growth, tattoos being the bridge between experiencing something at one moment of your life, but being able to move past it, a diary of sorts. She shared the stories of a couple, and shouted out her favorite local artist Dylan Homer, as she looked down and admired a piece on her thigh.
I will say, when I’ve been tempted to get a tattoo lately, it’s always when she is posting flash up on her Instagram…
The entire time we chatted about tattoos, living in Vancouver, and biking around the city, I couldn’t help but notice the large painting hanging above us.
Strong, confident, boisterous, full. This painting is new, and definitely an evolution from when I first started taking interest in her art. The black and white flash drawings surrounding it still including some of the edgier lines and sci-fi-ness I was initially attracted to, but the growth and progression was clear and up for everyone to see.
We exchanged stories about links to fitness and mental clarity, working in different industries that didn’t always offer the time, space, care, or attention to ensuring your physical needs are being taken care of. As an advocate for living an active life, especially in a city/province that offers so much, I was so thrilled to hear all of the ways she keeps fit and active currently, and how she’s taking care of her body so she can continue to have a strong career.
Tattooing involves a lot of sitting and drawing to come up with designs, but also is physically demanding in the long hours it takes to transfer one of the designs and immortalize it on someone else’s body. The positioning at the table, the mental focus, the dexterity and posture, all benefit from staying physically active, and we connected on ways we like to get our heart rate up, sweat it out, and how good it makes us feel.
I feel really grateful for the conversation we had, she shared a lot of her history, and her current interests, and it was fascinating to put together some of the pieces of a puzzle I had been collecting over the years by watching her expression through her art.
As we finished up our New Town buns, she reached over to grab her jean bag, and we got chatting about her first choice for this project.
The Bag(s)
I had a bit of a hard time trying to figure out what to bring. But I brought this bag, which is not gorgeous or anything, but I've had this bag probably since I was 12 years old. I had it when my mom and I rode the bus together. It's actually the only bag that I have.
The zipper's broken, it's rusted, it's been so beat down, I've sewed up the bottom of it countless times. It's also just sun-bleached and it's changed colors so many times. I love it.
This is just something that, honestly, I've had for so long and it holds so many memories. It's been dropped in the ocean (a story I’ll let her tell you). It's been to so many different countries. It's been on every guest spot I've ever done. I hope I hold onto it forever, for real.
As I snapped some photos she kept opening and closing different pockets, explaining things that have gone in each pocket and some of the stories related. Some inspirational, some cautionary, some reflective, but with each pull or zip, another experience with this bag came rushing back. She held it with such admiration and familiarity. The other folks in the shop who were hanging out also identified with it right away as well; definitely a piece she cherishes for both its longevity, utility, and memory. Her willingness to hang onto, repair, and care for this unbranded thrifted bag was endearing.
Despite her own style and approach to life changing, the bag has been able to endure and adapt, evolving and change by her side.
But, while we were talking, another bag had its eye on us…
I’ve seen some images of this bag already, but to see it in real life was another experience. I could tell she was maybe a bit hesitant to talk about it right away, as she didn’t want to take away from the importance of the jean bag, but as we flowed into the conversation, she grabbed it and started telling me about the process
This is my airbrushed TELFAR bag. I'm going to start doing this more; it is the most direct reflection of myself that I have. Sure, I can buy clothes that “feel like me”, but at the end of the day, this is the most of my soul I can put into clothing.
I love airbrushing on clothes. It's just something so satisfying about it. Specifically, the TELFAR bags because the logo has just such a nice shape to it. It's really nice to incorporate it into the actual design.
Also the fact that the whole bag is one-toned. You can use the natural color of the bag as a mid-tone. I always like doing that with clothes so that I don't actually have to add pink instead. The pink is already there. I just add the highlight and add the low light shadow.
So far, for all of these interviews, the narratives and stories that the people have been able to bring alongside their items have been so captivating and have beautifully aligned with what I find so fascinating about them as people. In this case, the jean bag played into my love for pieces that hold a long history, that have been worn time and time again and have been able to sustain a presence in the clothing rotation as they become better and more sentimental with age, and they evolve to be a one-of-one piece due to the time and effort of the user wearing but also preserving the item simultaneously. The TELFAR bag, was on the extreme other side; a one-of-one bag from birth, and in this case, highlighting her talents of creating beautiful curves with highlights that leave me in awe, combined with a jarring biological imagery that makes you look twice.
This is my favorite bag I think I've ever made. I was going to sell it, and now I'm starting to think like, shit, I should keep it.
I'm really trying to break into more fashion and airbrushing and stuff. I’m loving the direction it can take me, because at the end of the day, tattooing is still a service to someone else, and I love it, I love providing that service. But, painting, and creating pieces like this, I have a whole different point of control, there’s no limitations.
I can work as large or as small as I want, I have this new momentum now, I think you will see a lot more painting from me.
Conclusions
As we were wrapping up, I was admiring the building we had just spent the last hour or so chatting in. I’ve been watching a series on YouTube by Joshua Charow where he goes and visits and photographs artists living in these massive lofts in New York, and have been there since the 60s and 70s. The building that Anastasia is currently tattooing in, reminds me very much of those lofts. Solid wood floors, big brick walls, heavy doors and thin windows, and of course, art all over the walls.
She toured me around to see some of the other studios, some more tattoo artists and designers upstairs, a pottery studio below. And again, she mentioned that for the past little while, this place has been home, and how important it was to all the people who currently work out of there. How long will these types of spaces last? On the very edge of the East Vancouver border, in a rapidly changing city, in a particularly controversial area, time will tell.
What I do know, is that Anastasia is just getting started, and I am so excited to see what she produces in the coming years, energized, healthy, with a supportive community and thriving business.
She briefly mentioned that she was toying with the idea of hosting an art show at the studio, and I can’t wait.
Anastasias GENEs Recos:
Local - @evidencedoll - local designer making one of a kind futuristic clothing and accessory items.
“Reach” - @lazygawd - Paris based illustrator
Really loving these long form stories.