Interview to Elin Egoyan

Wilma Mohr with Elin Egoyan

by Wilma Mohr

I’ve heard lots of times that SL is just a game, a “reality” where only fantasies live, a fake world made of illusions. I don’t agree with that; if you’re able to open your eyes and see through the glass, if you can put aside the prejudice, a part of your own world will appear. Open the door, and follow the white rabbit…

Today, I go into someone else’s dream, somebody wants to share it with me. I fly to Godelin and a voice whispers “welcome on one of my favourite spots to sit and dream away :)) Please, have a seat”

Elin Egoyan is an artist who made some of her dreams come true in SL. She started painting lots of years ago.

“I always liked to draw things, as a child and in school as a teenager, but as you know, when you are that age it is not cool, but well one day you come out your roaring twenties… get settled and then this idea of drawing is pushing more and more. So one day I decided to take my pencils and crayon with me on holiday and make drawings during that period. To be honest, those drawings were hopeless so I decided direct after holiday to subscribe to drawing lessons to learn about perspectives… well that turned out great”

She admires the Surrealism artists like Dalí and Mucha, Gaudi or Niki de Saint Phalle too. But she has her own point of view of the world.

“My paintings perhaps have some influences from them but most of the time I just see something in my mind and start doing it”

Elin Gallery

What kind of things do “the click” in your mind? What inspires you?

It is mostly a feeling or something that bothers me or keeps my mind busy, mostly the inner self, the road of one’s consciousness levels of growing in life and when I look into the world I can make myself very angry about the killings because of what someone believes. Religion. Once I made a painting about the struggle in Ireland between the Catholics and the Protestants.

Are you talking about people who are not able to see farther what someone else shows them?

Yes. But... well I meditate quite regularly and then you jump into your inner self and then you get loads of ideas and feelings and silence.

What do you think about the existence of a connection between all things? A natural connection…

(she smiles) Well, all what exists comes out of the same base, just with different appearances… like a big pan of soup!

Are we a part of the same thing?

Yes! and I think when we die we are going back to that big pan of soup. It is of course a very special pan of soup (she smiles again).

So… what do you think about the position of the human being in that pan of soup? What about the relationships with the rest of creatures, animals, elements of nature?

In base we are all equal. All creatures have their own purpose in nature. In development, in there we have our own task, but I believe in a certain development: karma, reincarnation.

So, do you live according that?

Hmmm… I try to live my life as good as I can.

Not easy…

No, but that’s perhaps the part you need to learn in this life before you go back to the pan of soup and be better in the next round! I think we grow every time we live.

Godelin

The life like a learning, a kind of training. And... what role does art have in this learning? Does it helps you? In which way?

I think (but truth is another thing of course) that the ultimate goal of nature is you being able to live your whole abilities. We can do far more with our brains, our consciousness, then we actually do.

The brain like the most powerful machine...

Yes, and we just use 20% of it. What is the rest for? Well, meditating you start using more, reaching higher levels of consciousness. The final goal is to be able to use it all and have full access to what you are. They call it god-consciousness, but I don’t like that name.

I’ve seen in the gallery some pictures about the 4 elements…

The Women…

Is it the power of nature? Mother Earth in some way?

Well, the elements are the basic ingredients of nature. So I am not the first artist who expresses these ingredients. I made it in a female way because that was the Mucha inspiring I guess. And I think... and now I need to whisper…Those women are the base where life is based on. In that way, yes, mother Earth Gaia.

Elin Art: The Women, 4th elemens

In your opinion, why are those beliefs not so present in our society?

(she laughs) Don’t we live in a MALE society??? Well it is the wave of nature that makes what is important for life in what period I think. To make progress perhaps in one period of time it is necessary that the Yang prevails over the Ying and in a next period it has to be the other way around. The Yang period will end soon.

Like some kind of balance?

Yes… because with one you can’t have the other.

So, female influence will come again?

Yes, I think so, Age of Aquarius…

You told me you started painting portraits, copying photographs. But, have you changed the view of your art? Is it now a vehicle to express yourself?

Yes you are right in that. It is not copying anymore just to go your own way and express yourself as you like it. Unfortunately I had a very busy RL life so I did not paint much last few years (and that damn SL takes loads of time too arghhh)

You say SL takes you a lot of time. Tell me, what is SL for you?

In fact a part of my life, not even a second one, just part of my RL too. I have made friends I see also in RL. I meet people all over the world. That is so interesting.

Definitely, it’s not a second life, is an "ampliation" of the first one. I first came to SL to make come true dreams I couldn’t in RL… having my own gallery and building houses, my dream house. Well, I have sold paintings through SL to RL and that is a nice thing!!

Have you built the world of your wishes, in SL?

Godelin is part of it. I have to admit RL is and always will be my main important part of my life. But I would certainly miss SL when not being here anymore. It is my creative platform.

Elin Art

Is SL a risk sometimes? I mean, losing the “real life” perspective?

I think there are people who will have that problem. SL can be like an addiction. But those people would have been addicted to something else when there was no SL, those people are vulnerable for an addiction.

We live in a very impersonal society, do you think some people take SL like, I don’t know, a "salvation"?

Life has changed compared with 50 years ago, yes. In one hand the world became smaller, communication is fast and we know in a wink what happens at the other end of the world. That is an advantage but also a disadvantage. You get to know all the bad things that happen and the media jumps very enthusiastic on disasters etc, so we are fed with war, tsunamis etc. That makes people insecure, but they also make a shell around themselves to protect against all this misery. Interaction between people changing more and more: we communicate through the Internet etc, but... that is not all bad. In the end we all need an arm around us, a kiss.

I’ve heard that some people use SL to "erase" the part of reality that hurts… Do you agree with that?

It is possible, but... if there was no SL, perhaps these people would be very unhappy. Perhaps because of SL, don’t they find a piece of happiness they would not have had? Think of all disabled people who can dance and walk here!

Elin tells me that, in these days, she has felt the “click” again after some months without inspiration because of a RL situation. She has the beating again… so, we wait for your new paintings, Elin, and thanks for sharing with us this moment and your dream: Godelin.

If you want to see her art and to know her world, just look for her in SL, she is waiting…