Working on a piece as family is a unique dynamic. Can you describe the process of collaborating on this piece as a mother-child duo?

Collaboration in a mother-child duo is difficult most of the time for the gap between Gen X and Gen Z can be measured in light years. The fact that authors (mother Maja an architect and son Vasa an artist) have an unbreakable link but it is also full of tension. His youth fights to prove himself – as an artist, a man of perfect taste and artistic skills and she is in search for solid ground to back the ideas.

But then, out of the blue, a magical moment occurs when they recognize in the spark of mutual understanding. Those moments were precious and it made the venture worth the struggle.

How did your individual backgrounds—art and architecture—contribute to the final artwork?

The architecture mindset strives for order while the young artist craves for freedom. The young artist is also a good chess player, so he introduced the world of chess to his mother and she became fond of it.

During this project, both of them upgraded their mutual respect and admiration for the abilities of the other one.

Your piece conveys a powerful wish for peaceful battles in the world. How do you translate such abstract ideas into visual art?

The aggression is one of the basic modes of human behavior that we condemn but it still remains in our core. On the other hand, the urge to create is also immanent to human beings and we celebrate it. This dichotomy inspired us to search for a mediation of those irreconcilable aspirations.

It almost instantly brought us to chess that is at the same time a true war led without a drop of blood shed. It reflects the highest peaks of the human mind finding its way to express itself, facing the infinity of potential moves.

Our visualization of famous chess games (Carlsen - Polgard 2022.) is an attempt to bring the chess ignorance closer to the beauty of this game, simultaneously dealing with destruction and creation.

Were there any challenges in merging your styles and ideas into one cohesive artwork?

Inverse link of roles that authors are placed in this duo: parent – child; Architect professional – Art student; Chess beginner – chess player; provides a bumpy relationship of who has the “upper hand” upon many decisions on the path of creating artwork.

It is fascinating how painting chess games improved the mother’s chess playing ability.

What themes or ideas are you excited to explore in your future work?

We will work together as long as it is convenient for both of us, but for sure, we will continue to inspire each other.

What advice would you give other artists starting out on their journey?

Play chess.