Up Close and Artsy with Yuri Kabisher

Times of Youth: For those who don’t know about you and your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?

Yuri Kabisher: I was born in Vitebsk (Belarus) in 1976 in the family of an artist Igor Kabisher. Since my early childhood, I was surrounded by an atmosphere of painting and creativity.
In 1987, I entered the art school of the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Later I received an MFA degree as stage designer. Currently I work as a stage designer, an illustrator and a fine artist.

Times of Youth: How would you describe your work to someone who has never known about it?

Yuri Kabisher: The purpose of my art is to gain the ability to combine this multi-layered perception with the daily life within contemporary human society without changing the settled lifestyle artificially. I believe that contemporary society has to go through a major change, however it can only happen as a result of comprehending the detailed structure of our “mind-machines”. My ultimate goal is to help people who come across my art to expand the boundaries of their consciousness.

Times of Youth: What sparked your initial interest in arts?

Yuri Kabisher: I don’t think it needs to be sparked. it simply happens, my duty is only to help the creativity to come to actual being.

Times of Youth: At what age did you start doing all this work? Has your family always been supportive of this choice of career?

Yuri Kabisher: As far as I know I began to paint even before speaking. Later, around age of 19, I began to practice a variety of experimental techniques with an aim to explore different levels of consciousness. Through the series of researches about the inaccessible zones of human consciousness that took place during lucid dreaming, my own consciousness has changed. The center of my consciousness has shifted towards the area of direct nonverbal perceiving of various aspects of the universe and “other worlds”. I share this experience with people through my art and I believe that art as such is a wonderful tool that enables us to dive into the deep layers of consciousness.

Times of Youth: If not this, what else would you have taken up as your 2nd career of choice and why?

Yuri Kabisher: Maybe I’d be a musician.

Times of Youth: Do tell us how has your experience has been in your current field so far.

Yuri Kabisher: Its been like all my life!

Times of Youth: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate yourself as an artist, honestly?

Yuri Kabisher: Art is not a matter of competition.

Times of Youth: Which of your projects are you most proud of and why?

Yuri Kabisher: I simply love whatever I do at that current moment.

Times of Youth: Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?

Yuri Kabisher: I’m not interesting about some theoretical events in a future. ‘Now’ is the ultimate reality!

Times of Youth: What is one question nobody has ever asked you— that you wish they asked you?

Yuri Kabisher: I don’t have such strange wishes.