Artist Statement
At the core of Sofi Stern’s art lies the juxtaposition of the individual’s unique psychological patterns, subpersonalities, experiences, feelings, and the behaviors and sensations imposed by social structures. All her projects center around the theme of "congruence and incongruence" between the internal and external, the genuine and the expected, and honesty and pretense. A significant aspect of Sophie’s work is the exploration of childhood and youth, periods when we are not yet burdened by social conventions. In childhood, we are allowed to be ourselves, but as we grow older, societal expectations often take precedence over our own feelings and experiences.

Central to her projects is the conflict between the unique "self" and the space of "me," and the difficulty of acknowledging this space as it conflicts with accepted societal norms, which insist that everyone should be the "best version of themselves."
Today, we often discuss "new sincerity," but what does this sincerity really mean? Is it directed towards ourselves, or does it suppress our inner feelings so that even in our internal dialogue, we shape our identity according to societal standards? Are we ready to accept all our subpersonalities, even if they do not align with expected standards?

There is always a nonconforming personality within us that yearns to live, but society attempts to mold it to fit its norms and standards. Are we ready to allow ourselves to be who we truly are? And how intense can this internal struggle with external expectations become?

In her works and projects, Sophie Stern draws on the language of Fauvism, Dadaist games, partially naive techniques, and children’s drawings. These elements create a space for the emergence of characters that embody the artist’s internal subpersonalities, allowing them to express themselves in this "childlike" space, despite its imperfections and incongruities. This environment of genuine naivety and honest feelings is often overshadowed today by a rational approach to the self. Through this "naive," bright, and childlike space, we can see ourselves and recognize our inner child.
Exhibitions
I’m not a robot
Gallery CUBE, Moscow

In the era of premonition of technological singularity, control of feelings and desires of people, presented that reasonable and effective factors are leading factors in modern society, we talk about everything wrong and "alive". When a computer test simulates a person from a bot, it sees not that we clicked on all the necessary pictures, but how we did it: illogically, with different stench of time, clicking on different parts of the picture. "Wrongness" in the result of the test makes us people in the eyes of the machine. The project is dedicated to these mistakes
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