A distant place - Seryozha Parshakov

Seryozha Parshakov is a visionary, an artist capable of creating a powerfully innovative world, carefully designed down to the smallest detail, and one that becomes increasingly mysterious the more we discover it. Within the 3D art landscape, which hasn't escaped the tropes of science fiction as they've been tirelessly repeated by video games and cinema for decades, he chooses to overturn the codes and show us not an eternal dystopian future, but a different present, singular in its sheer essence.

In dark, gray plains grow strange plants, part organic, part machine. Seryozha Parshakov describes them in detail, tracing their use in a world we can only guess at, a civilization where humanity subsists, dominated by large pharmaceutical corporations, a world where beings are not born but nurtured like plants, where life spans do not exceed 24 years, where plants act like implants. It's a vision of the ecosystem pushed to the extreme, not as harmony, but as a totalizing machine, a coherent whole where everything has its purpose. And there's that haunting motif that runs through 3x9, the face of humanity, never seen but always present. Seryozha Parshakov achieves the tour de force of painting a portrait of a civilization without ever showing it, devoting his attention to the margins, the details, the periphery. Like the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher, or the work of ARN, we contemplate humanity through its artifacts, although in the case of 3x9 these are as “natural” as a forest or a field. Fractal art, where the smallest things concentrate within themselves the principles that will guide the rest.

In contrast to the stereotypical vision of the hero struggling to cope with the totalitarian societies in which he lives, 3x9's images are nothing but cold, efficient functionalism. There is no revolt, no individualism, only the frozen beauty of mechanics tuned to perfection. 3x9 is a utopia, a world where man and nature are in harmony, where each makes a step towards the other, man becoming more vegetal, nature more technological. The promise of a perfect world where every one of our desires and needs would be fulfilled, perhaps at the expense of our free will, perhaps also gaining a different kind of freedom in the process, one that we are unaware of.

A new Eden.

Can you tell us something about yourself? Where do you live? Do you work for commercial clients or is it something you do on the side?

I consider myself a multidisciplinary person: digital artist, illustrator, graphic designer, and creative director. I live and work in Moscow.

Everything you see publicly under my name is my hobby. I create in my free time after my main work at the studio — a sort of "creativity after creativity." In a way, I like to compare myself to Thomas Anderson from *The Matrix*, with the only difference being that I also enjoy my main job.

Personal projects allow me to switch gears and unwind, to reflect on things. This is an important part of my life that balances out my professional activities.

Seryozha Parshakov

That’s why I deliberately avoid freelance work — no side projects, no deadlines outside the studio, and no external pressure. It’s all about pure creativity and the freedom to create at my own pace.

What was your career path? How did you get into 3D?

If we're talking about my creative journey, which is now primarily focused on 3D, it’s been quite a boomerang. I took my first steps in 3D when I was around 13. This happened thanks to the game “The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind”, which had a huge impact on me. But I wasn’t captivated by the gameplay itself; instead, I became obsessed with the editor that allowed me to add my own worlds, buildings, weapons, and more. I dove in so deeply that after a year of intense work, I burned out and abandoned 3D for 15 years.

During this time, I focused on graphics: I did design work, created posters and merchandise for music bands, and experimented with acrylic and charcoal. Gradually, I realized I needed something more that would combine my various interests — graphic and industrial design, sci-fi, fantasy, punk culture, and different cultural codes and traditions. I felt that the style of illustration I had mastered couldn’t give me the visual depth I envisioned in my head, so I returned to 3D, practically starting from scratch. The boomerang came back and hit me in the head.

Working with illustration taught me how to let go of the process, work more freely, more artistically, allowing for pleasant imperfections. Even now, I love to sit somewhere outdoors or in the city and do a few sketches. There’s so much inspiration all around that it really energizes me.

Before talking about 3x9, which I think is superb and conceptually very interesting, I would like to dive into Ancient Future. Do they form a cohesive whole?

Thank you! The Ancient Future project, with its masks and forms, was initially my response to an internal question: how can I bring together many different themes that fascinate me in one project? In addition to everything I mentioned earlier, I wanted to see how different textures could coexist within a single object: a perfect machine-made modern shape combined with something primal, created at the dawn of human history when people were just learning how to work with wood and stone. This contrast partially inspired the creation of 3x9.

Through the masks, I found a way forward, leading me to a well-thought-out and meaningful narrative.

Seryozha Parshakov

Initially, the masks were empty vessels — I saw them as beautiful images that anyone could fill with their own meaning. The lore and additional context came much later, once I realized I wanted to create my own universe. At this point, they are undoubtedly part of 3x9, though I haven’t fully connected that to the public yet. Let’s say they are an integral attribute of an older era, at least in the context of my universe.

What is 3x9? Why this name?

I’ve always admired how writers create worlds, establish rules within them, and then build stories around those rules. This approach to creativity feels cohesive to me. Worldbuilding offers endless opportunities to explore new facets without straying from core, unique principles: characters, objects, stories — they all come together organically.

In the universe of 3x9, nature at its core is a machine, a system. Every tree is a computer, plastic is a natural material, and every plant serves a specific function.

Seryozha Parshakov

Forests, fields, and mountains are continuously scanned by the system, and plants act as ready-made devices for humans, as well as elements of a larger cyber-system. Each winter, nature enters a self-maintenance mode, a kind of "cyber-hibernation," only to return in spring, ready for further development.

In this world, I look at human life through the lens of its interaction with this system. What benefits can they gain? What dangers do they face? How have they survived and evolved in an environment where the natural cyber-system could easily classify a biological human as an error to be quarantined? (This topic may not be so innovative for sci-fi, but why not revisit it?). Perhaps human cities, with buildings that are grown rather than built, act as quarantine zones. This cyber-nature premise raises many questions: how did humans appear in a world devoid of other biological life? Who controls human cities? What do they eat? Which corporations run everything?

I have answers to all these questions, and each one serves as a starting point for new art.

Two examples:

In one piece I made some time ago, I depict the hand of a human representative. This work explores the essence of implants in this world. An implant in 3x9 functions through micro-plants: a portion of the limb is replaced with a special soil cast formed around the bone or its equivalent. Seeds are planted in this soil, growing inward to integrate with the human body and granting different abilities. Each type of seed provides a unique function.

Soil in this world is one of the main resources — without it, there would be no cyber-nature or comfortable human life. Different types of soil, the central universal resource from which almost anything can be made by adjusting the formula, are essential for roads, implants, and much more.

Another example illustrates how the human condition differs from what we know, with significant impacts on lifestyle and social processes. First, people are born artificially, developing in cabbage-like containers. They live a maximum of 24 years. They’re aware of this limit and try to change it, but their lifespan is fairly set. Like a cut flower in a vase, they can add water, adjust temperature, or apply chemicals, but these efforts have limited effect. You can imagine the profound impact this has on their way of life.

As you can see, beyond the plant-like entities I’m currently showcasing, there’s a vast realm of ideas waiting to be explored.

As for the name "3x9," it references Slavic fairy tales, where there’s a phrase "the thrice-nine kingdom" — a distant, almost unreachable place. I decided to reinterpret this concept, transforming it into a digital form that gives the project a sci-fi or cyberpunk touch while preserving cultural traditions that are dear to me, with many indirect references to these traditions as well.

What I find very strong in your work is the way you focus on one aspect of the world you're describing until you've exhausted its possibilities. You made a hundred masks for Ancient Future, now you're working on the vegetation of your world. Why did you choose to focus your work on these very specific areas?

That’s a good question. First of all, I wouldn’t say the theme of the masks has been fully explored. In fact, after completing the hundredth mask, I decided to take a short break to deepen my research and later integrate the masks into my universe more organically.

There may be something personal in pursuit of mastery, somewhat like the old sushi masters of Japan who devote their entire lives to their craft. I enjoy that mindset, and it resonates with me, though perhaps not to the same extreme. The narrow focus of my themes is partially influenced by this approach.

Art is often a reflection of the various experiences and influences in an artist’s life. For me, much of it revolves around subconscious references to folklore, old beliefs, and a sort of simple rural lifestyle, all dressed in a somewhat brutal technological form with a slight punk edge — it's pretty straightforward.

I deconstruct these elements down to their micro-components and filter them through my artistic interests and perspectives, this creates narrowness as-well.

Another thing I find very original is the way in which every one of your images is a confrontation between two opposite concepts. There's the past and the future, of course, but also materials, whether technological or natural, a design-oriented approach to the elements through a photographic camera. You mix very different elements, which gives a particular quality to your work. How do you approach your artistic process?

Yes, this is actually one of the key principles I’ve set for myself, and I try to adhere to it 99% of the time. Every new project, I determine how contrasting the elements will be — will it lean more toward technology or craftsmanship, toward fantasy or functional design?

This evolves during the process itself, which constantly refines things. Every moment I question decisions, and critical thinking plays a big role. For instance, there are works I’ve never shown because they didn’t hold up to my personal critique — I got so engrossed that I lost sight of my own rules, and the coherence with the overall project fell apart.

But in the end, there’s nothing unique about the process. It feels like I’m just living and making, absorbing everything around me, filtering it, and trying to transform it. It’s a simple formula, really. Why complicate things?

Can you tell us about the lighting and color of your shots? The lighting is very cold and clinical, but at the same time soft, tactile. We don't know if what we're seeing is real or not, if the world of 3x9 exists or if it's a simulation. Similarly, the mixing of very muted colors with much brighter elements reinforces the strangeness of the scenes.

Color has always been a mysterious subject for me. I never particularly enjoyed working with it, and most of my creative journey has been in monochrome. Only recently have I started using accent colors.

I found help with color by studying the works of 17th and 19th-century painters, particularly those who focused on landscapes and still lifes. The combination of darkness, ambiguity, and a certain softness — even in the most eerie scenes — reshaped my perspective. I began to notice this contrast in everything around me.

Light, in this case, serves as a tool to evoke these feelings. I try to use as few light sources as possible. Even with the masks, where every detail begs to be highlighted, there are tricks to achieving this.

Can you tell us about the way you work? What software do you use?

I used to work with a wide range of tools, including 3Ds Max, ZBrush, and Plasticity. Over time, I’ve narrowed it down, and now I primarily create almost everything in Blender, which has become my main tool for modeling and visualization. That said, I constantly juggle additional tools for working with 2D elements. The list could go on. Ultimately, the program isn’t as important as making sure it’s comfortable and efficient for the workflow.

I also really like the music in your videos. Can you tell us more about it? Do you work with any particular musicians?

Music and sound are essential elements for fully experiencing a piece of art. Sound adds that extra layer that allows for a deeper immersion into the atmosphere. I find myself paying more attention to sound in films and games. And although I’m not a musician and am not yet familiar with music theory (working on that!), I’ve created soundtracks for some of my works, using purchased samples and going by intuition.

I also had an incredible experience working with my friend Aeph. Together, we made my first short film set in the 3x9 universe. He’s a top-tier professional, and that collaboration completely changed my perspective on how sound can enhance and bind everything together. In the near future, I hope to work with Digital Moss, whose music feels very close to the spirit of my universe. He’s my creative soulmate.

What are your inspirations? Are there any artists you feel close to, in 3D or in other fields?

I usually draw inspiration from parallel fields, not only art but fashion, cinematography, etc. Mostly, I’m inspired by classical painters and their work with still lifes and landscapes. Among modern artists, I’m a huge fan of Ivan Solyaev, Piotr Jablonski, Ashley Wood, Aaron Horkey, Yulia Bas — their boldness, meticulousness, and depth captivate me. Of course, there are many more, but these are the first who come to mind in arts.

What's the future for 3x9? How will the project evolve and are there any other aspects of this world you want to develop?

I’m at a point where I realize this is a lifelong project. I plan to develop it in many directions, which will require new skills, collaborations, and possibly larger-scale approaches. I constantly ask myself how best to tell the story of this world — through short films, illustrated books, or other media. It’s a long and fascinating process that demands not only creativity but deep analysis, from the daily life of the characters to the global conflicts and technologies. There’s still a lot of work ahead, but it’s incredibly exciting.