By Olimpia Bellan

BEHIND THE ART OF LEVART |

Milan-based artist Lev Iyriboz is redefining visual storytelling, blending vivid imagination with the raw beauty of nature. His work takes us on a journey into dream-like, symbolic worlds where animals, humans, and nature become striking, thought-provoking pieces that transcend the ordinary. Each creation is an invite to reflection, challenging our perceptions of reality and the natural world. Taking us to the crossroads between the real and the surreal, the art of Lev Iyriboz evokes a sense of wonder while leaving us contemplating the delicate balance between humanity and nature.

What led you to become an artist?
Since I was a child, I have always had the desire to create, transform and give a different vision to what I saw. I have always wanted to materialise and make concrete my imagination. This process gives me an inner satisfaction, nourishes my soul.

Your work merges the realms of imagination and nature, blending unexpected elements like animals, insects, and flowers. Can you tell us more about how you conceptualise and bring these dream-like worlds to life in your art?
I feel connected to the nature, I believe that nature has already created everything with so much beauty, harmony and above all balance; precisely for this reason that I find so many ideas linked to our inner world. With my artworks I also want to integrate us humans into the enchanted universe of nature. Unfortunately, creating a contact today, listening and trying to be part of it, scares us. Sadly, this creates a distance that ruins our way of being human. With what I create, I want to remove this distance and describe the characters of my creations starting from the details that relate to nature.

How has technology, particularly AI and post-production, influenced the way you create your pieces? Do these tools help you push the boundaries of your artistic expression?
I feel that AI scares a lot of people. For me it’s the opposite. It intrigues me a lot, I feel lucky to be part of it. The same thing with post-production, it is a tool, call it a technique, to be able to create what you have in your mind. However, the idea of the concept always comes from you, not all people who use AI create the same subjects in a same way, like the interpretation of a painter who paints, a photographer uses the camera; the process is the same but the interpretation that you put on paper, on a canvas must start from your imagination, from your point of view.

AI helps me to interpret and transform my ideas, make them concrete to be able to share them with the others. Like a photographer uses his camera with his vision. The amazing thing is that I interpret and create people who do not exist, fashioning an imaginary world that gives us emotions. Your point of view is what counts and makes that artwork unique.

Your artworks often feature characters that symbolise hidden personalities. How do you choose which traits or symbols to represent each character’s essence?
This is exactly what amuses me and gives personality to my artworks. I use a lot of interpretation of tattoos that also brings me to a current gothic mood, I connect this approach to the delicacy of flowers, creating many contrasts and describing the character of that person. For example, you’ll often see me use a snake, a symbol with many negative or positive interpretations. Historically, snakes represent fertility or a creative life force. All the details, like insects, flowers, birds, bees, leaves or chameleons, carry a symbolism that describes the personality of that person. It depends on how I create my characters, sometimes I start with the symbolism of the animal or plant, sometimes with the season of the moment. Instead, sometimes I interpret classic fairy tales in a contemporary key. I am influenced by everything that surrounds me, hearing music, watching a movie, and often long walks in nature. A small detail is enough for me to create a character with his or her non-existent story. I like to give things a soul and make what I create communicate. I like to amaze, both myself and others

Current and future projects?
I’m currently developing this project, I’m exploring a new world, it’s starting to become part of me and vice versa. In the future I would like to create an exhibition where people can explore my works, in a decadent context, and insert elements of nature, make a kind of installation where you can perceive the scents of flowers, birdsong, walk on dry leaves, hear noises and so on. In short, perceive my works in many senses, create a deeper, more sensorial link with my characters.

How visually thirsty are you?
The visual world for me is everything, like water that you can’t do without, and with this project I’m so thirsty.

Read Lev Iyriboz interview on BMI:MAG limited edition, find your copy at @bluemarlinibiza and throughout Ibiza’s hotspots