Lilia Mazurkevich`s Snake Charmers

Hay Hill Gallery in London`s Baker Street hosted a charming exhibition of a young artist, Lilia Mazurkevich, who studied at Kiev`s College of Arts and Design, and later at City and Guilds Art School in London.

My favourite pieces, which I named `snake charmers` pay homage to Lilia`s unique style of hyper-realism, which is cleverly juxtaposed with vivid imagination and subtly veiled dark humour.

The theme explores a timeless story of a beautiful, seductive temptress, who tames a beast – a poisonous snake in this instance.

The appeal of Lilia`s art – the paintings are oil on linen – is in having surreally imaginative scenes presented with a Vogue-like photographic elegance, and a keen eye for minute detail – look at the painstakingly finished scales on each of the snakes.