Tribambuka (aka Anastasia Beltyukova) is a London based multidisciplinary artist, award- winning illustrator and animation director working predominantly in painting and printmaking. Her practice is concerned with the themes of shifting identity, home and belonging. As a British artist with Russian roots, she takes a critical approach to the complexities of her heritage through a contemporary lens of feminist thought and mythological thinking. Her striking, figurative visual language is an amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Russian Avant-garde, French Analytical Cubism and Fauvism, as well influenced by the revolutionary spirit of swinging sixties.
The artist was formally trained in the traditions of the Russian Analytical school of painting at the St. Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design, which opposes the canon of academic education and takes its roots from artists like Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Pavel Filonov and Natalia Goncharova. She inherited the structural approach to composition and shapes, reversed perspective and bold colour combinations. The influence of Fauvism, Expressionism and sixties counterculture add an element of disorder, emphasizing the interplay between chaos and structure that is a key theme in her work. Her background in illustration adds a fresh, contemporary edge, as well as defines the narrative approach and symbolism behind her compositions. These visual attributes become apparent in her She / Her / Hers (2022) painting series, depicting portraits of women in various contorted, geometrical configurations using a limited palette of bold colours. In her painting series Right to Rage (2022), the artist adopts a similarly iconic compositional style and colourful palette in her portraits of female characters from across various mythological narratives as a powerful emancipatory statement.
Alongside prestigious commissions by international brands such as CNN, NBC, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and the Migration Museum, Tribambuka’s works have been exhibited and collected internationally in both physical and NFT-form.
Artist Statement:
“Having been born in a city and a country that don’t exist anymore, and having wandered around a bit and growing roots in the new soil now I found myself being concerned with the complexities of identity, belonging and home. At first it was quite innocent exploration of what Home is, but since the pandemic the theme has been turning darker and darker each year, revealing its shadow sides – first, home becoming a confinement, then – falling apart altogether. Themes of losing home, broken homes, damaged roots, displacement and losing ground led me to questioning identity and belonging even more – who am I when my world has fallen apart?
Also the horrific war that the country I used to call home has started highlighted gender injustice (among other things). An ultimate objectification of a woman is her body becoming a symbol of a conquered land, leading to unimaginable crimes. Gender inequality, female rage and resilience are taking over my practice at the moment. I’d like to see it as a way to process it and facilitate a discussion of the need of a cultural and political change. I like using traditional techniques, oil on canas, printmaking, charcoal and carbon pencil on paper, but I experiment with digital tools a lot too and even work with moving image. I’m finding it hard to lock myself into one creative field, and each project I take on makes me branch out into new spheres. I’m drawn to collaborative multimedia projects as well, working together with musicians and performers, as well as involving audience. I found that interacting with the audience and asking questions is the most exciting way for me to create work, and their responses stimulate the next steps in my creative process.”
Selected Events
Solo Exhibitions:
- 2022 “Right to Rage”, OXO Tower Wharf / London, UK
- 2019 “I Am Home”, Atelier 3I3, Porto, Portugal
- 2013 “Weird And Wonderful”, S.P.O.T Gallery, London, UK
Group Exhibitions:
- 2022 “TART Factory”, TART Gallery, London, UK
- 2022 International Women’s Month, Adidas x Creative Debuts, Cluster,London, UK
- 2022 “SHE/HER/HERS”, Oakland Gallery, New Brighton, UK
- 2019 “SOI 62”, Museum of Illustration, New York, USA
- 2019 “Nothing Is Square”, Cultivate Gallery, London, UK
- 2019 “Cluster”, Truman Brewery, London, UK
- 2019 “Who Are We”, Hackney Wicked Festival, Trampery, London, UK
- 2013 “Making Tracks”, ONCA Gallery, Brighton, UK
- 2013 “Pick Me Up”, Somerset House, London, UK
- 2012 “Winter Pop Up”, Wrong Door Gallery, London, UK
- 2012 Print Club London Group Show, London, UK
- 2012 “Space for Mind” – Space for Art, London, UK
- 2012 The Reality of Art London Festival, Courtyard Theatre, London, UK
- 2012 “East London Mornings”, Mouse and De Lotz, London, UK
Public Talks and Podcasts:
- 2023 How to Use What You Feel to Make Art, Public talk, The Mixer x AOI, Disabled Illustrators Meet Up with Tribambuka
- 2022 Fierce Women, Panel discussion, SheSays x Cluster Contemporary, OXO Tower, London, UK
- 2022 Holding Home In Our Hands, Panel discussion, Central Saint Martinsx Foundling Museum, London, UK
- 2022 Finding Home, Seven of Clubs, Public talk, Pushkin House, London, UK
- 2021 Hotline Design Podcast
- 2021 Animated Documentaries Q&A, Hackney Picturehouse, London
- 2021 Finding Your Voice, Public talk Cluster, London, UK
- 2020 Finding Your Voice, Public talk, Kyoorios Designyatra Conference, Mumbai, India
- 2020 KinoLondon Q&A, London, UK
- 2019 Creativity + Opportunity Panel discussion, British Library, Hill+Knowlton conference
- 2014 Creative Industries Round Table Discussions, OXO Tower, London UK
- 2009 Indian Street Graphics, Public talk, ETAGI, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 2009 Design and Visual Culture in Russia, Round Table, Museum of City Sculpture, St. Petersburg, Russia
Honours and awards:
- 2023 John Moore paining Prize, Shortlist, UK
- 2021 Creativepool Awards, Bronze Award for Illustration, UK
- 2021 Creativepool Awards, Bronze Award for Animation, UK
- 2021 3×3 Mag / International Illustration, Competition No18, Merit Award, USA
- 2021 Communication Arts Illustration, Competition, Winner, USA
- 2021 Society of Illustrators Competition 63, Shortlist, USA
- 2020 Creativepool Award, Bronze Award for Illustration / UK
- 2020 Creative Quarterly 61, Runner Up, USA
- 2020 3×3 Mag, International Illustration, Competition No17, Honorable Mention, USA
- 2019 HiiiBrand Illustration Competition, Best of the Best, China
- 2019 Society of Illustrators Competition 62, Shortlist, USA
- 2019 Illustration West 59, Shortlist, USA
- 2018 Communication Arts Illustration, Competition, Shortlist, USA
- 2017 Creativepool Awards, Illustration Shortlist, UK
- 2016 Creativepool Awards, Illustration Shortlist, UK
- 2016 Creativepool Awards, Wave Shortlist, UK
- 2016 Top 25 Creative Industry Influencer, Creativepool
Animation awards:
- 2020 Japan International Film Festival, Best Animation
- 2021 Roma Short Film Festival, Award Winner, Italy
- 2021 Red Movie Awards, Award Winner, France
- 2021 Dumbo Film Festival, Semi-finalist, USA
- 2021 DRUK International Festival, Award Winner, Bhutan
- 2021 Indo-French International Film Festival, Award Winner,India
- 2020 International Music Video Awards, Best Animated Music Video, UK
- 2020 FIFF London, Best Animation, UK
- 2020 KinoLondon, Finalist, UK
- 2020 Short To The Point, Semi-Finalist, Romania
- 2019 Barcelona International Film Festival, Gold Lion Award, Barcelona, Spain
- 2018 Feel The Reel International Film Festival, Best Music Video, Glasgow, UK
- 2018 ReAnima, Best Music Video, Norway
- 2018 London International Student Film Festival, Best Music Video, London, UK
- 2019 San Jose International Film Awards, Best Video Clip, Costa Rica,
- 2018 Hollywood Independent Filmmakers Awards and Festival Honorable Mention, USA
- 2018 Rome Independent Prisma Films Awards, Official Selection, Rome, Italy
- 2018 Short To The Point Official Selectio, Romania
- 2018 Moscow Shorts International Film Festival, Official Selection, Moscow, Russia
- 2018 London Shorts Series Festival, Official Selection ,London, UK
- 2018 Jelly International Film Festival, Official Selection, Los Angeles, USA
- 2018 Toronto Vanguard, Official Selection, Toronto, Canada
- 2018 Lift Off Global Network London, Official Selection, UK
- 2019 Porto Femme International Film Festival, Official Selection, Porto, Portugal
- 2019 Music Shorts Film Festival, Official Selection, Missoula, USA
- 2021 London International Animataion Festival, Official Selection, UK
- 2020 Feel The Reel International Film Festival, Official Selection, UK
- 2020 London Arthouse Film Festival, Official Selection, UK
- 2021 British Animation Film Festival Official Selection, UK
- 2021 UK Screen One International Film Festival, Official Selection, UK
- 2021 Tri Rivers Film Festival Official Selection, UK
- 2021 FlickFair Film Festival, Official Selection, USA
- 2021 New York Tri-State International Film Festival, Official Selection, USA
- 2021 Indie Filmmaker Showcase,Official Selection, UK
Residencies
- 2021 Casa Tagumerche La Gomera, Spain
Publicationss
- 2021 ZIMA magazine,Interview
- 2020 The Calvert Journal, Feature
- 2019 Design Calender, Interview
- 2018 The Illustration Idea Book, Inspiration from 50 Masters By Steven Heller and Gail Anderson
- 2018 1000 Artist’s Journal Pages
Education
- St. Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design, 1994-2000
- British Higher School of Art and Design, School of Creative Arts of the University of Hertfordshire,2017
- CityLit, Animation, 2017 – 2018
More Artworks By Tribambuka (Anastasia)
