Viktoriia Ponikarova: "For me, beauty without meaning is empty, and meaning without beauty is silent"

For the tattoo artist and mentor Viktoriia Ponikarova, each drawing on the body is much more than an image. "Every tattoo is a sacred symbol and talisman," says Mrs. Viktoriia, considering this art as a special language of images, symbols and forms. It is because of it that a dialogue between the internal and external is born, between the experience of a person and his history. Beauty always makes sense. In this search for depth and the creative path is born - the story of a person who learns and teaches others to look for his own voice.

In a new interview with BOMOND VIP fashion, we talk about the beginning of this path, which was formed in a turning point in life, about a tattoo as an art that lives together with a person and changes along with his destiny. About how a symbol is born, which over the years does not lose its meaning, but only opens up new shades of meaning. And also about the special role of mentoring, where the main values are respect for a person, honesty in creativity and courage not to copy other people's ideas, but to find your own voice.

Mrs. Viktoriia, I am very impressed by what you say about tattoos as history and art. Today I would like to open the curtain of the beginning of your story. At what point did you realize that a tattoo is exactly the manifestation of creativity that inspires you?

My life, like many of us, has changed since the beginning of the war. I had to migrate to Poland. This is where the idea of the tattoo was born. But it wasn't a specific moment. Still, I always felt the need to speak with people in the language of images, symbols, forms. Drawing for me was never just an image — it was a way of conveying state, experience, inner movement.

Over time, I realized that tattoos are a unique art, because it lives together with a person. It does not hang on the wall - it breathes, ages, changes along with the body and life. That every detail, each element carries its own energy, affects the future fate of a person. At some point I clearly felt: this is not just a profession, it is a form of dialogue between me and the world, between the inner and outer. It was then that tattoo became my conscious path.

I ask this question quite often and every time I am delighted to read the answers of the heroines of the magazine. Tell me, please, how would you describe the portrait of a woman in the modern world? What is he like in your eyes?

For me, a modern woman is not an insult or a role. This is a living, multidimensional creature (a bad word but I can't replace it). She can be strong and vulnerable at the same time, determined, but very sensitive to herself.

I see a woman who learns to hear her own rhythm, even in a world of constant speed. A woman who allows herself to change, make mistakes, start over.

She no longer strives to live up to expectations — she seeks the truth about herself. And it is in this honesty that its true beauty and exclusivity are born.

A tattoo is not a choice for the season. This is what a person chooses sometimes for the rest of his life. How do you help customers find an image that will not lose its meaning over the years and will remain special even after decades?

I never start with a sketch. I start with a conversation.

It is important for me to understand a person: his way, his pain, his strength, his request. We are not looking for a trend and not a "beautiful picture", but a symbol that has roots. What you have already lived or what you want to consolidate as an internal support. Very often in projects I use

Personal data, such as name, year and place of birth. This helps to create a unique image reinforced with sacred symbols and elements that are not just a beautiful picture, but become a real talisman for a person.

Such tattoos are born from depth, not from impulse, it does not age. Over the years, it changes shades of meaning, but does not lose it. This, in my opinion, is the real value.

For many, tattoos are the first experience and at the same time an exciting step into the unknown. How do you think a person should prepare for the first procedure so that this experience becomes comfortable, conscious and really correct?

First of all, internally. You should honestly ask yourself: why do I need it?

Don't worry, it's okay. But it is important to trust the master and allow yourself to be open. Physical training is simple: rest, food, peace.

But the most important thing is to come not in a hurry, but in a state of contact with yourself. Then this experience becomes not stress, but an important ritual of transition.

At the session, I always talk to the client. And I usually get feedback that it's not just a tattoo session, it's better than at a session with a psychologist.

The French poet and philosopher Paul Valéry once said: the artist does not write what he sees, but what others will later see. In a tattoo, this is felt especially subtly: work is born not as a decorative gesture, but as a personal story, about memory, events, people or moments that you want to engrave in the body, as if in the canvas of life. How do you feel this line between beauty and meaning? And what does it mean for you to create a tattoo that matters primarily to who will wear it?

For me, beauty without meaning is empty, and meaning without beauty is dumb.

I feel this limit very subtly. My task is not to impose my own vision, but to help a person see his story in a form that will be aesthetic and honest at the same time.

To create a tattoo with meaning means to serve the story of another person. Be attentive, delicate, responsible. It's a lot of trust, and I treat it with great respect.

I would like to pay special attention to the fact that now the role of a mentor and teacher is becoming an important accent for you. What values, what philosophy is the foundation for you in this direction? What would you write now the main tips for those who are just at the beginning of their own creative path?

For me, mentoring is not about technique as such. It's about thinking, ethics and inner resistance.

I believe that a true master begins with respect - for the body, for the person, for the process. It is important not to copy, but to look for your own voice. Do not rush, do not chase for a quick confession.

My main advice is to learn to listen. Myself, the client, silence between the lines. And remember: the path in art is a marathon, not a sprint. Those who remain honest and patient are sure to go far.

Viktoriia Ponikarova. DIGITAL COVER

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