As a child, Julia Volchkova had a dream to one day come to Australia and see how people lived their lives in this beautiful country.
When at the age of 29, she got the opportunity to visit Australia, she left a lasting memory of her trip to the country.
In 2017, Ms Volchkova became the first female artist to take part in the SILO-Art project in Australia.
Street Artist Julia Volchkova Source: Photo Credit: Ariel Hii
She recalls the organisers telling her she would bring "a little femininity to the project”.
Although she had painted huge murals before in other parts of the world, she said she found this project in a Victorian country town physically "very challenging" despite her experience.
"The safety contraption was very heavy and together with all my equipment it weighed several kilograms.
"As much as I hated it, I had to wear a special belt and follow many other safety requirements. I must admit that I have never seen such strict safety standards in any other country," she told SBS Russian.
Ms Volchkova chose the theme of her mural to reflect the life of , a town in western Victoria, and the spirit of the locals.
"It is a very small town with about 500 residents, but how wonderful they were to me!" she says. "I still remember how everyone invited me to dinner with their families.
"And when I was working, people usually brought tables, chairs, and baskets with sandwiches. They drank tea and watched while I worked. It was so sweet."
Ms Volchkova decided to paint two young people from the local Rupanyup Football and Netball Club. She recalls that a 16-year-old football player was really pleased when she picked him for the project.
The silos feature two local residents of Rupanyup Source: Supplied
"But he was a bit shy when I asked him to pose, and his friends teased him saying 'Julia chose you'."
The 32-year-old street artist says it was "a special honour and real luck" for her to be able to participate in the project.
Ms Volchkova was born in the city of Nizhnevartovsk in Siberia, where she first began painting at the age of six.
“I started to learn how to draw before even learning how to write,” she says. “It's all I wanted to do in my life, even though many predicted a career in modelling for me.”
Following her desire for large-scale works, Ms Volchkova turned to street art.
The first of her paintings on a wall were the faces of her girlfriends and those artworks can still be seen in her hometown, as well as a beautiful mural in Russia that she dedicated to her mother, which is her biggest artwork.
She says street artists often create their paintings illegally in the absence of permission from the local authorities. Ms Volchkova says she faced similar issues with police back in Russia but she managed to avoid any serious consequences.
Guardian of the World. "I dedicated this mural to my mother." Source: Ivan Dubrovin
Her principle, she says, is "not ruin, but try to enrich".
"We are responsible for our paintings. If you paint on the street where elderly people see it, children see it, then it better be something beautiful and inspirational.
"I can't tolerate any form of vandalism. I would never ruin a piece of art in my life, I grew up admiring them. I will better create new artworks."
These days Ms Volchkova lives in Thailand and is planning her new projects as she waits for the coronavirus restrictions to ease.
Her murals now decorate buildings and walls all around the globe: in Dubai, China, Belgium, Malaysia and many other countries. In Malaysia, she took part in the UNESCO World Heritage site painting several portraits of people on historic buildings in Penang.
While she's painted many acclaimed works participating in big global projects and received professional recognition, her personal favourite remains the one that was spontaneous, created without any special planning and even without permission. It pictures an Indian woman sitting among the roots of a tree growing out of a wall.
Paintings on the building of Penang Island Source: Facebook @Julia.volchkova.artist
"When I shared it on Social media, I woke up to discover more than 20 thousand shares and a bunch of great offers," Ms Volchkova said.
"It's usually those works that I make on my own, with no special request, even without permission sometimes, that attract the most attention."
Ms Volchkova says her street art is not just an expression of creativity, but of ideas and purpose.
The favourite mural of the artist is in Malaysia Source: Facebook @Julia.volchkova.artist
“There are still many problems in the world, inequality of all kinds; social, gender, racism. I can’t tolerate any of it and my purpose is to draw people’s attention to these problems through my art pieces."
