What happens when you follow your creative vision without knowing where it will lead? In this episode of I Love Your Stories, host Hava Gurevich speaks with Ukrainian-born conceptual portrait artist Anya Anti. Known for her surreal, meticulously crafted images of women, Anya shares her artistic journey—from discovering Photoshop before picking up her first DSLR, to moving to New York with nothing but two suitcases and a dream. She opens up about the viral self-portrait that emerged during her darkest times, the painstaking process behind her photographs, and how she is navigating the challenges posed by AI-generated art.

Show Notes
Guest: Anya Anti – Ukrainian-born conceptual photographer specialising in surreal female portraiture.
Early Creativity: Began with painting and crafts, later discovering Photoshop and digital photography around 2008–2009.
Artistic Breakthrough: A pivotal manipulated portrait posted in 2011 defined her genre of surreal, storytelling portraiture.
Moving to the U.S.: In 2014, Anya moved to New York with her husband, no job, no apartment, and faced cultural and language challenges.
Self-Portraiture: Began exploring self-portraits after struggling to find models, leading to her viral piece “Butterflies in My Stomach”
, symbolising anxiety and rebirth.
Signature Style: Real-world locations, handcrafted props, and hours of digital
compositing—avoiding background swaps to keep the surreal believable.
Creative Milestones: Speaking at events like WMAX and creating the climate change
project “Two and a Half Seconds” in Iceland.
AI Challenges: Anya discusses the frustration of having her work mistaken for AI-generated images and reflects on how technology is reshaping art.
Staying Creative: Despite doubts and obstacles, Anya remains dedicated to her craft,
embracing select AI tools as complements—not replacements—for her process.
💬 Memorable Quotes
“I always say that I use photography to collect materials to create something that is impossible to capture.”
“When people told me it was all Photoshop, I had to defend my work. Now I have to defend that it’s not AI"
”Butterflies in my stomach was about anxiety—about being reborn in a new country"
“We as artists actually enjoy the process. If it’s just a click of a button, it’s not interesting anymore."
“I can’t just throw it all away—this is who I am. I’m a photographer, a digital artist, and
this is my life."
”Maybe we just have to wait and see where it takes us—and not give up in the process|