Where the beauty gets created: at the Alisa Gorshenina’s studio

HOW ARE YOU DOING? NOT GETTING DISCOURAGED?

I’m getting discouraged, actually. But work helps. I dive into art and it saves me a lot. I can be more brave doing it, and talk about sharp themes. I feel myself more comfortable and free in the art, and I’m glad to face that terrible time being an artist with a formed practice. I kinda realize what I should do and how.

WHAT ARE YOUR NEAR PLANS?

To find a larger studio. In that case the studio I’m currently in will remain active, I’m just looking for more space. Plans… I don’t have any certain plans, but I have some planned exhibitions. I’m not confident about tomorrow, and it’s hard for me to plan. I just keep working, hoping to shoot a movie while I’m here in Russia and while I’m able to do something.

There’s not much space in my studio currently. It’s a simple three room apartment in a nine floor panel building. I live here with my husband and two cats. I have lots of art pieces, they are all scattered around the apartment, but in this room you can find the concentrating bulk of them. It’s around ten square meters here, a giant table and some cabinets. I use walls as an exhibition space, to always change the exposition. I look at my artworks here and get fueled somehow, that’s why I always move them around the wall. I usually place here pieces which are very difficult to store in boxes, since they are textile and very soft. A piece with heart, for example.

DO YOU LIKE TO SELL YOUR OLD ARTWORKS? I SEE EYES ON THE WALL WHICH YOU SHOT IN LANDSCAPE A YEAR AGO. THE SUN MASK SEEMS TO HAVE COME FROM YOUR THEATRICAL PROJECT, WHICH IS ALREADY A COUPLE OF YEARS OLD. IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KEEP ALL THESE PIECES?

I sell some pieces, but not all of them. For instance, the masks and costumes never get sold, I store them at my home. Sometimes it’s very difficult to give the artworks away. I sell most of the graphics and paintings. There was a Blazar market not long ago, and there were some textile sculptures, but I created them just for that market. I can’t yet imagine selling that sun mask and heart. I have masks that are more than five years old, and I’m still transforming them. Wearable art is about constantly transforming things. They are always involved in some new projects, but they stay with me. I have a feeling that if I sell some mask, they will buy it to wear it, and I don’t feel like I want somebody else to wear it apart from myself. I’m okay with selling masks to museums that want to keep them, and I even have some museum sales done already. But private collections are different.

WHEN YOU SPOKE, I HAD A FEELING THAT YOU CONSIDER YOUR ARTWORKS AS PARTS OF YOUR BODY.

Yes. Especially with wearable art, it’s an extension of me. I interact with these objects very closely, since they literally touch my body. It’s easier for me to sell graphics and paintings because the drawings are from a different perspective. It’s much harder for me to let go of textile pieces. I often consider masks as my self portraits. And usually I’m not ready to give my objects to some other artists even if it’s about collaboration. I can do that if only I feel a connection with this person. Lynch could be one of these people, and I also would have given my art to Curt Cobein if he was alive, since I understand his art and it’s close to me. So it all depends on different kinds of people too. Most of the time I just feel they want to take my pieces just to make them theirs.

WHAT ARTIST’S WORKS YOU CONSIDER AS INSPIRATION SOURCE WHEN YOU WORK WITH TEXTILE?

I have a traditional education in graphic design and fine art. However, I was not exposed to textile art or contemporary techniques. I began experimenting with textile by accident when I found a piece of cloth on my bed that matched the color of a character in my illustrations. I decided to use it to create a head covering for the character. At the time, I felt like I had discovered something new and exciting, and I began to view textile as a valid form of art. I later discovered the works of artist Louise Bourgeois and was deeply moved by her ability to express personal pain and experiences through her art.

Since then, textile art has been my medium of choice and it is through this medium that I am recognized as an artist. I enjoy working with textile the most, and I am particularly impressed by artists such as Leonid Tishkov. I remember being amazed when I first saw his work and discovering that these objects were created by male. He had an exhibition in our local art museum back then, and his objects were exhibited in that kind of a classic museum where they usually only have paintings and nothing more, and there was an object in the form of a uterus, stylized as a grandmother’s carpet. The description said that it was the uterus of his mother. The artwork was subtle in terms of its concept and emotional impact. I also appreciate the work of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, who is not always associated with textile, but whose work is intriguing. Although there are many artists who work with textile, the first that comes to mind for me is Louise Bourgeois, whose work is powerful and impactful.

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE YOURSELF AT THIS POINT OF TIME AND WHAT IS THE MAIN THEME OF YOUR WORKS NOW? IS IT STILL “URAL COMATOSE” OR SOMETHING ELSE?

"Ural Comatose" was the name of an old project from 2015. At the time, I was experiencing a specific emotional state and I have since gone through various other emotional states. I find it difficult to respond to your question because the year 2022 was particularly challenging and filled with many difficult events. I feel as though I must start over and rebuild. The progress I have made in the past no longer seems relevant, and I must establish new connections. Before, I had a sense of direction and was focused on showcasing my art to the world and growing as an artist. Now, everything is uncertain. My roots are still important to me, but it is difficult to navigate the current situation. It is not only about exhibiting my work internationally, but also about how to do so during these challenging times. My current art is not apolitical, and I am not ready to display my older work, but I also cannot display my newer work as museums and galleries are not currently accepting it. I was able to participate in an exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery, but now it is unlikely that I will be able to do so again. Not every gallery would be willing to show my work at this time. I did have an exhibition at the Yeltsin Centre, which was a space that was open to showing my work. I am uncertain about where else I can showcase my work.

I said before that I’m planning to shoot a short movie. I’ve been trying to create an animation since 2017, some kind of a small artwork. And now I’d like to make something bigger. I see some kind of exit in that, because it’s about pushing the boundaries and interacting with viewers in a different way. I realize that this language is still not available for me. Maybe I will work harder to achieve it, but it’s very difficult.

WHAT IS YOUR USUAL DAILY ROUTINE?

I tend to wake up late and take my time with breakfast. I am a relatively slow-paced person. I then spend time working in my studio. I have had a long-standing desire to own a car so that I can easily leave the city and be in nature more. I often go to forests, fields, and ponds. I live in a city where it is possible to be in nature within five minutes. After February 24th, I felt disconnected from my surroundings and have been going out even more.

I often talk about the Urals in my art, and that is also why I spend so much time in nature. Sometimes, I also simply sit in my studio and stare at the walls. I find that being in my studio gives me energy. In order to work, I need to have the right atmosphere around me. That is why I frequently rearrange the paintings on my studio walls. When something is not going well in my life, I will go and shuffle everything around in my studio in hopes that I will absorb something new every time I enter the room.

YOU’VE BEEN DOING SOME QUITE BRAVE THINGS SINCE LAST SPRING. WHERE DOES YOUR BRAVERY COME FROM?

I don’t even know. I just take action. If no one else is doing something, I will do it myself. I felt that my city was lacking in strong statements, and I took on the responsibility to try to put my city, Nizhny Tagil, on the map. After some time, I realized that there are many people in my city who share the same opinions and also speak out. Their voices may not be as prominent as mine through my art, but they are still there. I always keep track of people who are being detained and try to be as informed as possible. My art gives me the courage to speak out because I feel like I have more freedom and ability to express myself in that field. I can say something in a different way through my art that might be straightforward, but it will still be an artistic statement. I believe there is a great power in art, and that is why I continue to create it.

DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN SET OF LIFE RULES?

To never lie to myself. When you don’t lie to yourself, you don’t lie to others. Since I’m an artist, I have to be very honest with things that I do.