We were lucky to catch up with Andreea Balaoiu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andreea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

During my 2 years of creative career and counting, I have explored and experienced a plethora of themes and scenarios, which helped me mould myself into the dark feminine visual performer that defines my current artistic style. I would say, my most meaningful work to date coincides with my discovery of Finland as my creative and emotional haven. I have forged intense and meaningful bonds with many a Finnish creator and I have created some of my best works in Finland. Some of the most notable ones are my works with photographers Tommi Viitala, Jukka Vehmas, Kristian Tilander, Nadi Hammouda, Timo Keisala and Ivan Bessedin.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Growing up, I always felt like a black sheep in any community construct. Because I saw the world a bit differently than the rest. A bit more, actually. I have never been inherently good at following and fulfilling others’ expectations of myself. Hence why, often, I chose the path of a recluse, coiled myself in my own world, and raised the foundations of my own crystal castles. However, educating myself in a cultural multiverse has made me wiser and a better diplomat. So I started my creative career as a Marketer before stepping in front of the camera and discovering my natural talent for Creative Direction. I used my body, flair and wit to fulfil several creative visions, and I developed as a model rapidly and in a very versatile manner. This versatility and ability to fulfil different creative scenarios and interpretations ultimately drew like-minded creatives to my stead. I’m not only one aspect or one facet of myself; I am an actress and a visual performer. I adapt, and I make creative challenges a reality of expression. Currently, I offer my creative services as both a Model and a Creative Director, mainly helping unique fashion brands uncover a new dimension to their visual narrative. My proudest achievement in this sense is my collaboration with the Latvian Black Bridal Couture brand Sherbon, where I am the Creative Director and model. The elements that I wish any future creative collaborator to know and retain about me are my range of emotional and visual display and my creative fluidity. “A song of fire and water”, a synergy of both intensity and coldness. This makes me feel so at peace in Finland, despite coming from the sunny South. I have been forged in the light, but my soul thrives in perpetual shadow. And that is my true beauty.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I will answer this very simply based on my cumulative creative experience thus far. There were not nearly enough ambitious people around me growing up. This is why I often was, and still am, misunderstood. I chose the winding road, burning by nature, intensely and authentically, for my way of expression and later, when I discovered my path, for my art.
When you are ambitious, you are visceral, and you take risks relentlessly. You want to be unstoppable, and you will fight anyone and anything that could potentially stand in the way of fulfilling these goals, sometimes regardless of the degree of the relationship with the outer world. Often, non-creative individuals misunderstand this as egocentrism, as trying too hard to fight for a paragon or a figment of one’s projection of fulfilment, which may or may never happen. Everyone is, of course, entitled to their respective views, just as I am. However, ambition is certainly something I personally and subjectively believe that people who don’t or cannot have their purpose, will never truly understand.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

How I make traveling abroad to create content and partner with like-minded creatives happen, despite odds against me. This has characterized the last year of my life, from October 2023 until the present day and counting. When I set on this journey I said to myself I will not stop until I feel it is time to stop. And this has got me very far, very fast, and it is only the beginning.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bleude4ndre7/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreea-b%C4%83l%C4%83oiu-3132683b/

Image Credits

Inga Zvonkova
Linda Liepina