For me, illustration has always been a way to let go of emotions, to show and tell a story. A year ago I decided to sketch my friends who were asleep on the couch, embracing each other, and it opened up a new side of them that I hadn’t seen before. The longer I looked at them, the more they seemed like strangers to me, different. I think we underestimate the beauty of people when they are asleep. My series of illustrations represents real queer people in the state of sleep at different points in both their lives and mine.

I’m an illustrator and comedian from Saint Petersburg. I do visual arts. I saw the announcement for the festival on social media and decided to partake in it. For over a year I’ve been performing at queer feminist stand-up shows, I’m a resident project representative, and I host art sessions at Action (community center). In the past, I’ve done a few exhibitions of my abstract work in queer safe spaces.