Monika: When you create a composition, is it often influenced by your personal stories or feelings?
Maria: Yes. All compositions are stories. Some of these stories are so personal, that it is possible to tell them only through music or another kind of art. When I have a strong emotion, I want to play and record something.
Monika: Did the transition change your artistic perception of the world?
Maria: Transition changed everything. I used to be able to wake up at 7 a.m., live on schedule, do 30 things a day. The rhythm of life was very high. I worked in IT.
After the transition, I lost the ability to do things I didn't like. My willpower decreased. At the same time, there was the ability to notice small details in everyday things. To feel sounds, smells, colors, etc more subtly. After the transition, I do fewer things than before but understand them deeper.
Monika: Are you working on any new projects now?
Maria: It will be a chillout downtempo project. Now I work a lot as a sound engineer and sound designer in the movie industry. And this work maybe will affect my music as well, bring to it a new kind of sounds and ideas. I hope you will like it!
Maria: Yes. All compositions are stories. Some of these stories are so personal, that it is possible to tell them only through music or another kind of art. When I have a strong emotion, I want to play and record something.
Monika: Did the transition change your artistic perception of the world?
Maria: Transition changed everything. I used to be able to wake up at 7 a.m., live on schedule, do 30 things a day. The rhythm of life was very high. I worked in IT.
After the transition, I lost the ability to do things I didn't like. My willpower decreased. At the same time, there was the ability to notice small details in everyday things. To feel sounds, smells, colors, etc more subtly. After the transition, I do fewer things than before but understand them deeper.
Monika: Are you working on any new projects now?
Maria: It will be a chillout downtempo project. Now I work a lot as a sound engineer and sound designer in the movie industry. And this work maybe will affect my music as well, bring to it a new kind of sounds and ideas. I hope you will like it!
 |
| Israel, 2019. |
Monika: Any new roofing plans or challenges?
Maria: After the quarantine. I hope. So many bridges and skyscrapers are still left! Now it is like a drug, and I cannot live without it. First, it should be 100% concentration because each mistake will be the last. And when I climb the top, it is... so calm, so beautiful. Nothing can compete with this. Any types of activity that look dangerous, but actually are not, do not appeal to me so much.
However, I would like to understand my motivation; why I like roofing. I am going to work on this topic with a psychologist because this hobby is very risky. I have to change it into something maybe also crazy, but safe.
Monika: Do you like fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Maria: I like dresses. I rarely wear a bra, which was invented by cowards. I like black, white, red and purple. I like wearing glasses. Sometimes I dress up like a bitch. Because I just want to look like this. Sometimes I like looking like a library girl.
Although sometimes I am invited to some projects as a model, I cannot say that I have good taste. The creation of a visual image is not my strong side. I do not know why, but my best images taken by professionals are black and white.
Monika: "A bra was invented by cowards"? :) Haha, really? I like it a lot ...
Maria: It is a joke. I know that bra was invented by ones without silicon inside :)
However, I would like to understand my motivation; why I like roofing. I am going to work on this topic with a psychologist because this hobby is very risky. I have to change it into something maybe also crazy, but safe.
Monika: Do you like fashion? What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Maria: I like dresses. I rarely wear a bra, which was invented by cowards. I like black, white, red and purple. I like wearing glasses. Sometimes I dress up like a bitch. Because I just want to look like this. Sometimes I like looking like a library girl.
Although sometimes I am invited to some projects as a model, I cannot say that I have good taste. The creation of a visual image is not my strong side. I do not know why, but my best images taken by professionals are black and white.
Monika: "A bra was invented by cowards"? :) Haha, really? I like it a lot ...
Maria: It is a joke. I know that bra was invented by ones without silicon inside :)
 |
| Photo by Ksenya Kravtsova. |
Monika: Many transgender ladies write their memoirs. Have you ever thought about writing such a book yourself?
Maria: Only when I will turn 70! I hope to live such an interesting life that it will be worth writing a book or creating a movie about. Who knows :)
Monika: Would you say that you are a happy woman now?
Maria: I do not know. The transitional issue is almost closed. Sometimes life is so amazing. But sometimes it is so difficult. I can definitely say that I am much happier than before.
Monika: What would you recommend to all trans women struggling with gender dysphoria?
Maria: Understand that you are not alone. There is a trans community in almost every country. Meet other trans women. Speak to them about your problems. Understand yourself better. Gender dysphoria will not finish without action. Transition is difficult, but everything is possible. We are living in the best times for trans people ever!
Monika: My pen friend Gina Grahame wrote to me once that we should not limit our potential because of how we were born or by what we see other transgender people doing. Our dreams should not end on an operating table; that’s where they begin. Would you agree?
Maria: I agree with Gina. Transition is very important. But it is only one aspect of life. It is not a goal, but rather a necessary condition for starting a new amazing, and interesting life.
Monika: Maria, thank you for this interview.
Maria: Only when I will turn 70! I hope to live such an interesting life that it will be worth writing a book or creating a movie about. Who knows :)
Monika: Would you say that you are a happy woman now?
Maria: I do not know. The transitional issue is almost closed. Sometimes life is so amazing. But sometimes it is so difficult. I can definitely say that I am much happier than before.
Monika: What would you recommend to all trans women struggling with gender dysphoria?
Maria: Understand that you are not alone. There is a trans community in almost every country. Meet other trans women. Speak to them about your problems. Understand yourself better. Gender dysphoria will not finish without action. Transition is difficult, but everything is possible. We are living in the best times for trans people ever!
Monika: My pen friend Gina Grahame wrote to me once that we should not limit our potential because of how we were born or by what we see other transgender people doing. Our dreams should not end on an operating table; that’s where they begin. Would you agree?
Maria: I agree with Gina. Transition is very important. But it is only one aspect of life. It is not a goal, but rather a necessary condition for starting a new amazing, and interesting life.
Monika: Maria, thank you for this interview.
All the photos: courtesy of Maria Tymoshenko.
Main photo by Ksenya Kravtsova.
© 2020 - Monika Kowalska
No comments:
Post a Comment