About

Drawing from posthuman theories, environmental science, and symbolism, Elina Yumasheva explores the interconnectedness of living and non-living matter, understanding the world as a shifting mesh of relations rather than fixed forms. Working with oils, pigments, bacteria, natural dyes and other non-toxic materials, her paintings become active sites where intention and unpredictability coexist.

Within this framework, matter is not fixed or singular, but relational, unstable, and continuously transformed through interaction. She approaches it as something that manifests across forms and materials, leading her to test the boundaries of painting, including the use of bacteria-derived pigment she grows in a biolab as one way of engaging materiality as both subject and agent.

This understanding informs the visual language of the work. Forms often remain unresolved, suspended in a state of confusion, occupying a space that is not here but not there yet. Edges, cracks, and thresholds recur as points of contact where colour fields meet, bleed, and contaminate one another. These transitions reflect how matter, energy, bodies, and identities are shaped through encounter. As an ethnic minority, Elina also approaches this through a personal lens, considering how identity is negotiated within larger cultural forces that can dilute, absorb, or blur difference.

Elina is currently studying an MA in Painting at the Royal College, supported by the Basil H. Alkazzi Award of Art and co-leads SustainLab RCA, where she previously served as Head of the society (2023/24). She holds an MSc in Environmental Science from the University of Edinburgh (2011) and an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art (2024). Past exhibitions include Tate Modern Lates and the Saatchi Gallery.

CV

Education

September 2026
Royal College of Art, MA Painting, London, United Kingdom (recipient of the Basil H Alkazzi Award)

September 2024
Royal College of Art, MA Contemporary Art Practice, London, United Kingdom

June 2021
The Art Academy London, Certificate in Painting, London, United Kingdom

September 2011
The University of Edinburgh, MSc, Environmental Protection & Management, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Selected Group Exhibitions

June 2026
MA Painting Graduate Show, RCA (Upcoming)
London, United Kingdom

May 2026
Weight in Translation, Art Embassy Network
London, United Kingdom

Apr-May 2026
Immemorial, Hypha Studios
London, United Kingdom

Apr-May 2026
UnSeen, Hypha Studios
London, United Kingdom

Mar-Apr 2026
Following Fallowing, Hangar RCA
London, United Kingdom

Feb 2026
Salon 0502, Old Waiting Room
London, United Kingdom

July 2025
Coexistence, Gallery Marron
Seoul, South Korea

June 2025
Reverberant Ecologies, SuperSATELLITE
London, United Kingdom

June 2025
Sustanence, ASC Handbag Factory
London, United Kingdom

June-July 2025
Breath Matter Code, Not For Sale Gallery
London, United Kingdom

March-April 2025
Sublimis, Marie Jose Gallery
London, United Kingdom

January 2025
Fantasyland, Twilight Contemporary
London, United Kingdom

September 2024
From the One to the Many, Saatchi Gallery
London, United Kingdom

Sep-Nov 2024
This and Other Worldly Glimpse, IAG Exhibitions
London, United Kingdom

May 2024
Co-creating With Nature, Upper Gulbenkian Gallery, RCA
London, United Kingdom

April 2024
RCA CAP Broadcast & Screening, Tate Modern Lates
London, United Kingdom

November 2023
No Man’s Land–Terra Nullius, Dyson Gallery, RCA
London, United Kingdom

July-Aug 2023
‘Exquisite Codes’, Bla-bla Projectarium
‘Art-teenth’, Court Square Exchange
Berlin, Germany/Connecticut, USA

October 2022
‘TERRA’, Espacio Gallery
London, United Kingdom

April – May 2022
‘Ambient Anxiety’, Curious Kudu Gallery
London, United Kingdom

Nominations & Positions Held

2025-2026 / 2023-2024
Royal College of Art, SustainLab RCA, Co-lead / Head
Leading the efforts of the sustainability society (SustainLab RCA) at the Royal College of Art in finding new ways to express creativity while taking into account environmental and social aspects.

2023-2024
Royal College of Art, Environmental Sustainability Committee, Member

2020-2021
Art Academy London, Equality & Diversity Working Group, Member

Residency

January-February 2025
RAW Labs x Residency
London, United Kingdom

January-February 2023
Ryuhyo – exploration of drift ice, Hokkaido, Japan

Selected Press

May 2025
Riverside Radio L.O.U.D. with Sandrine

November 2024
FRIEZE Magazine, No 247, ‘Art Collective: From the One to the Many’

January 2024
The DODO ‘No Man’s Land’ Review (print)

May 2022
Brixton Blog ‘Troubled journeys and seductive places’

May 2022
Ambient & Ambienti ‘Ambient Anxiety: when art and sustainability collide’

May 2022
Brixton Bugle ‘Ambient Anxiety in Curious Kudu’

April 2022
FAD Magazine ‘The top 5 art exhibitions to see in South London’

Curatorial Projects, Workshops & Talks

April 2026
Artist Talks & Workshops: Following Fallowing, UnSeen, London, United Kingdom

June 2025
Artist Talks: Sustenance, Reverberant Ecologies; Breath Matter Code, London, United Kingdom

March 2025
Artist Talk: Marie Jose Gallery, London, United Kingdom

January 2025
Workshop: What Colour Does Nature Feel? RAW Labs x Art Residency, London, United Kingdom

May 2024
Exhibition: Co-creating With Nature, Upper Gulbenkian & Hockney Gallery,
Annual SustainLab RCA exhibition, London, United Kingdom

March 2024
SustainLab Talk: What’s the post-RCA world like for eco-conscious artists and designers? RCA, London, United Kingdom

February 2024
SustainLab Talk: How do we align our creative practice with naturally sourced materials? RCA, London, United Kingdom