Anna Polkovnichenko is an emerging artist, living and working in Surrey, BC, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, and other Coast Salish peoples. She began her artistic journey later in life as a way of coping with significant life events and mental health conditions. She is a third-year fine arts student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and she is also undertaking coursework at the University of the Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers University. She has taken part in local shows with the Langley Art Council, the Art Council of Surrey, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University student groups. She works primarily in monotype, a printmaking technique that creates a unique print by drawing or painting an image on a non-absorbent surface and transferring it to the paper using a printing press. Anna's art practice focuses on mental health and is inspired by abstract shapes and bright colors. 

​

Anna’s work explores the relationship between hope and despair and the effects of mental illness on the human being, oscillating between happiness and darkness. Monotypes are created by layering images one over another, several times, until the overlay of bold colors and shapes creates dense and unexpected interactions, reflecting on the multiple identities of an individual going through transformational life experiences. Occasionally, Anna incorporates collage elements and mixed media into the monotype background. The unique and unrepeatable nature of each monotype speaks to the individuality of human emotions and experiences. Anna’s Eastern European upbringing exposed her to formalist art movements, and she is influenced by the formalist approach in her compositional and coloristic exploration of mental health questions. Undiluted bright colors convey positive emotions that counteract the often-dark space of mental illness.