A conversation with Synchrodogs

  • Alexander Voulgaris

Tania Shcheglova and Roman Noven, well known as Synchrodogs (they have the same taste and perceptions, both behave like dogs, eating from one plate and licking each other’s faces), are probably the most interesting photographers in Europe right now. Their obsession with nature and naked bodies and their simple/minimalistic photos are already their signature style. But still, through that simplicity, they succeed to make us curious every time with their projects and the way they think like artists. We had the chance to explore more about their work as photographers, discuss the Ukraine War and about their upcoming exhibition at Dallas Contemporary Museum of Art.

How did all start? How did you make the decision to start working together?
There was no some precise moment when we decided to work together, we just started dating in 2008 and shooting was our all the time occupation. We taught ourselves with everything we know and felt it comfortable to work on projects, develop ideas, search and explore.
Wasn’t it a little bit weird for two strangers to meet online and start working together?
No, it wasn’t. We were communicating for some period of time on the Internet, talking over the phone, met in a city that was between his and mine home town as we lived 8 hours away from each other by train. We started trusting each other fast.
Can you describe your work and your aesthetics in few words?
We are total perfectionists, thought ‘perfect’ for us may mean something absolutely different than for most of the people.
You are both from Ukraine, how did the situation in Ukraine affect your work, inspiration as artists and also your personal lives?
As you know Ukraine is going through a very difficult time when it has to fight its ‘big brother’ so surely it affects us but mostly on a personal level rather than it affects our art activity. So we just do what many Ukrainians do – help Ukrainian men, Ukrainian army to stand, and collecting donations. A year ago we created our first charitable project where we sell made-by-Tania jewelry and spend money to help those who are in urgent need of medical help. You can check the project here.
You had collaborated with many magazines and brands like New York Magazine, Kenzo, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire and more. Do you have a favorite?
We especially love Bimba and Lola (not only for spectacular clothes and jewelry but also for the incredible team) and our recent Shiseido collaboration which gave us the opportunity to meet so many Japanese superstars and the trip itself was full of panda watching and sushi eating.
How do you see the new photographers and artists are growing as professionals through the economic crisis in Europe?
We do not see this crisis affecting artists in any way. If you have a brilliant idea you have to find a way to execute it no matter what, otherwise you do not believe it is good enough.
In your work, nudity and nature take an important role, why is that?
In our art, we try to convey the connection between natural environment and inner self, as that is an issue that is truly important for us. We have always been closely related to nature, behaving ourselves in a way that is somehow considered right for animals, not for humans. This feeling of something sacred we find in nature inspires us to live some specific way of life, making us go far from the city, look for the alternative environment for self-bringing up. At the same time, we feel nudity is a kind of a link between modern human and the Earth, it is something raw and open left in all of us.
Tell me few things about your upcoming exhibition at Dallas Contemporary Museum of Art.
We are opening our solo show in Dallas Contemporary Museum of Art on 20th of September presenting our newest project Supernatural. It took us a year to create it and we had (and still have) a temporary print sale option on our website to support this newest project creation. ‘Supernatural’ is a never ending self-exploration of two artists in the context of the unknown. It deals with intuition, subconscious, natural phenomena, some human essence which is unable to be explained by science, aiming to depart from what is usual or normal. In the project we used our own constructed images as a vehicle for questioning the border between the evident and the elusive, between the right and the wrong, uncovering edges of our own subconscious, using intuition as a way of acquiring knowledge without the use of a reason.