Alina Gozin'a Biography
"I was asked during an interview if I have a nickname and how do I define what I do....Well, friends call me Smokey and I create art and photographic portraits because I’m fascinated with humanity. I use photography, film, and art to tell stories. I’m a “documentarian” in the sense that I capture the human spirit from all walks of life. When I was 15, I came across a portrait of Sartre by Henri-Cartier Bresson and that's how the obsession with telling visual stories started. I use my intuition and give it my all to capture a glimpse of one’s soul, without doing any research. I’ve ended up with a sharp eye for spotting the good souls and the phonies (love this word, nails it). I don’t think one chooses to be an artist, I think it chooses you! It’s a journey like no other; it’s a luxury which comes at a price.....and yes, it’s worth it! I love what Oscar Wilde said: "No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist". What rocks my world? Just like you, I'm obsessed with so many things, but if I had to pick, I definitely can't live without my family and friends, New York (my soul), European cinema, Smalls jazz bar in West Village (my local), theatre, Otto Dix (arrests me every time), BBC radio (quality), documentaries (obsessed), the sound of French and Italian (so sexy, so soulful); Nina Simone (nothing better), Rachmaninov (genius), The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac (legends), Keith Jarrett and all other tunes I'm crazy about; then there is Avedon, Kieslowski, Louis Kahn, Messerschmidt, Soviet cinema, The Dick Cavett show, Almodóvar, Iñárritu, Sopranos, Kundera and Richard Ford, Dostoevsky, Remarque, Tarkovsky, Woody Allen, Malle, Scorsese, Garry Marshall, Oprah, David Letterman, Simon Schama, The School of Life, James Baldwin and the day Obama became the president of the USA and so much more! Known for her portraiture photography, Alina Gozin’a captures the extremes within human society - those bathing in the light of glory and those hidden by the shadows of our society, whilst ensuring that she uses the same photographic treatment no matter who she shoots. As an artist, Alina explores how important events in history can create a ripple effect across the globe resulting in major, often irreversible changes for humanity. Commercially, Alina has photographed television, film, theatre, editorial and advertising campaigns for a long list of major clients such as HBO, STAN, The Australian Financial Review Magazine, Good Weekend Magazine, The Australian Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, GQ, Madame Figaro, The Sydney Morning Herald, Company Director, Tribeca Film, Universal Music, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, ABC, SBS, Channel 9, Sydney Theatre Company and many others. Alina received a number of prestigious nominations and awards for her work in photography and films, including a Young Director Award nomination at Cannes Lions, National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, The London Photographic Association, Head On, Olive Cotton, Sydney Life and Shoot the Chef.
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