AN ART exhibition highlighting Russian history has opened in Whitchurch.

The exhibition, which currently sits in Whitchurch Library, features the works of Svetlana Elantseva, originally from Moscow but now living in Whitchurch.

Working in her native Russia, Svetlana worked as a member of a team of artists producing Communist Soviet-style art until the event of Perestroika, commonly believed to be the beginning of the break-up of the Soviet Union.

She later moved to England to study art, eventually finishing with a degree in fine art from Staffordshire University.

Svetlana says her works take inspiration from her life in Russia and she uses various different mediums to project her art, including paintings, collages, sculptures and photography.

"The processes explore different ways of working and incorporating techniques observed, photographed and documented during my life in Moscow, the south of Russia, and the Ural region," said Svetlana.

"My translation of ideas, designs and imagery are used for painting, collages, 3D ceramic sculptures, photographs and films.

"The colours used for the sculptures and some paintings evoke the feel of Russia.

"In England I finished a BTEC in Fine Art, a Foundation Degree in Creative Art for Employment at Staffordshire University followed by a BA Hons in Entrepreneurship for the Creative and Cultural Industries (Fine Art).

"I am seeking to expand my art locally and internationally using heritage and cultural influence as a vehicle for expressionism forging links between cultures via the medium of art.

"My paintings and ceramic figures are instantly recognisable as being of a Russian style, through the colours and the way they are used together."

Svetlana says that despite moving to the UK, she remains closely connected to Russia, and this comes through in her art.

"Throughout my life and travels I always feel a connection to my home land," she explains. "This develops my way, my art, where I pay homage to my heritage, country and its ways of life."

Her exhibition, Every Picture Tells a Story, will feature in Whitchurch Library until February 29.