5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art - Augustman
Augustman Logo
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
E-Magazine
Most Trending
5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art
Most Recent
5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art
Most Trending
Catch The Hermès Autumn/Winter 2021 Show Live From Paris
Most Recent
Artist Peter Doig Collaborates With Kim Jones For Dior Men’s Fall/Winter 2021-22 Collection
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Most Trending
Shattered Faith. Broken Alliances.
Most Recent
Will Music Streaming Spell The End Of Radio As We Know It?
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Most Trending
Review: The Fourth-Generation Apple iPad Air Is The Ultimate Portable Workhorse
Most Recent
6 Reasons Why We Are Really Excited About The 2021 Formula 1 Season
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Most Trending
Glenfiddich celebrates a prosperous Chinese New Year
Most Recent
Sip On These 5 Cocktails That Are Under 200 Calories
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Most Trending
Detourism: Can The Past Year’s Lessons Teach Us To Become Better Tourists?
Most Recent
See Singapore Through Fresh Eyes With These Unique Tours And Experiences
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Most Trending
Razer Has Created A Futuristic Face Mask Equipped With Built-In Microphones And Lighting Effects
Most Recent
Free Workout Apps That Will Help You Smash Your 2021 Weight-Loss Goals
  • Fitness
  • Health
Most Trending
AUGUSTMAN Singapore: Free Digital Issues For The Next 3 Months
Most Recent
Uncover Mindful Living with AUGUSTMAN x LIFESTYLEASIA
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
  • sg
    • MY
    • SG
  • Search
5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Culture
Will Music Streaming Spell The End Of Radio As We Know It?
Culture
Shattered Faith. Broken Alliances.
Culture
The Tokyo Olympics Will Be Held This Summer But Some In Japan Aren’t Too Keen On It
Augustman Logo
sg
5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art
Back
All  Style
  • Fashion
  • Watches
  • Grooming
Back
All  Culture
  • Design
  • Events
  • Art
  • Music
  • Film & TV
Back
All  Gear
  • Tech
  • Motoring
Back
All  Food & Drink
  • Dining
  • Drinks
Back
All  Travel
  • Travel Guides
  • Hotels & Resorts
Back
All  Wellness
  • Fitness
  • Health
Back
All  AM Select
  • Men of the Year
  • MVMT
  • A-Listers
  • Hit List
E-Magazine
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Sort & Filter
Close Filter
Sort By
Date
Relevance
Filter By Category
All Categories
All
Style
Culture
Gear
Food & Drink
Travel
Wellness
AM Select
Apply
Filter By Location
singapore
All Countries
Culture

5 Minutes with Salavat Fidai, The Guy Who Turns Pencil Tips into Art

Hannah Choo
01 May 2017
Article Hero Image
Trending Now
6 Reasons Why We Are Really Excited About The 2021 Formula 1 Season
GearRead More
Artist Peter Doig Collaborates With Kim Jones For Dior Men’s Fall/Winter 2021-22 Collec...
StyleRead More
Review: The Fourth-Generation Apple iPad Air Is The Ultimate Portable Workhorse
GearRead More
Catch The Hermès Autumn/Winter 2021 Show Live From Paris
StyleRead More
Here's your ticket to incisive commentary and insights from the celebrity sphere. Sign up for our newsletter.

Meet Salavat Fidai, the guy who turns boring pencil tips into intricate figures. If you’re crazy about Game of Thrones and if you appreciate good art, you’re in luck. There’s an exhibit featuring 16 different characters sculpted by Fidai, happening right this moment. Go check it out.  

Could you also talk a bit about your journey as a lawyer-turned-artist? 

I went to art school as part of an extra-curricular activity when I was a child. Both my parents were also artists and was always exposed to the arts since I was young. When it was time to enter  University, it was an economic crisis in Russia. I thought I could not make a living as an artist and I might not become very successful. In Russia, artists were not very well-respected and not very well paid. It is why I studied law instead. One of my first jobs was in the police force as an investigator, I later became a teacher and then started working as a manager in the corporate sector. By 40, you could say I had a midlife crisis. I quit my job at the end of 2013 and didn’t do anything for a year. I wondered what else I could do in life. Then in the summer of 2014, I  remembered that I used to do art as a kid and decided to go back to art. 

What inspired you to carve pencils and how long have you been at it? 

I started with miniature paintings on matchboxes and seeds of plants such as pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. One day, while I was researching online, I came across someone’s works on pencils, and decided to give it a try myself. I thought it was a unique and fragile matter and welcomed the challenge. My first works appeared in 2014, when I made Batman and Darth Vader. 

Did you study art before or are you self-taught? 

Pencil carving was self-taught. It took me two years to perfect the craft. 

Did you think your work would get so popular among the world? 

Just like any artist, of course I wanted to become well-known and for my works to be shown to the world. But I didn’t expect it to happen so fast and that I would become so popular in various countries. I’m hoping to go to other countries as well, not just Singapore and Asia. Guess I’m not that popular yet as people still can’t recognise me on the street! 

On average, how long does it take to carve? How many pieces can you do in a day? 

It really depends on the complexity of the piece. It can take me anywhere between 10 hours to three weeks to finish a piece. 

What has been the most elaborate piece you have done? 

From the Game of Thrones exhibition, it was the Iron Throne. It took me three tries and three weeks to create the final piece. The Titan of Braavos sculpture was also a tough one as there were a lot of fragile and intricate details in that piece. 

In this Game of Thrones exhibit, which is your favourite character and why? 

I like Tyrion for his strong-willed nature. He didn’t have a very good start in the series and he also had physical limitations to deal with. But despite all that, he is smart and respected by other people. I like Jon Snow too, because well, who doesn’t like Jon Snow?

Happening until the 4th of June at K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square. Admission is free

Hannah Choo
Talk to Me About:

Up Next For You

Legendary Songwriters Are Selling Off Their Song Catalogues. Here's Why
AFP Relaxnews
Culture
Upcoming Netflix Originals That You Will Want To Stream In 2021
Richard Augustin
Culture
Need To Keep Boredom Away? Here Are 5 Events You Should Catch In January 2021
Richard Augustin
Culture
From Money Heist To His Dark Materials, Here Are 15 TV Shows That Will End Their Run This Year
AFP Relaxnews
Culture
Here's your ticket to incisive commentary and insights from the celebrity sphere. Sign up for our newsletter.
×
Where are you?
Tell us so we can display what you want to see.
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
Malaysia Singapore
Advertise About Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
© 2021 Copyright Augustman