{"id":33490,"date":"2021-06-01T13:35:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T13:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/about.35.197.208.187.nip.io\/?p=33490"},"modified":"2025-07-16T17:58:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:58:32","slug":"we-are-not-ourselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/spotlights\/we-are-not-ourselves\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are Not Ourselves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2018We Are Not Ourselves’ by Svetlana Ochkovskay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations on winning Zealous Stories: Sculpture. Your winning project, We Are Not Ourselves, <\/em>features a series of wearable sculptures. Could you give us some context around these costumes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had created that series of wearable sculptures for my MFA Degree Show 2020 at the Goldsmiths University of London before the first lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures \u2018non-human\u2019 appearance transforms their identity, giving spirit and energy to a new fantastical creature, stretching the boundaries of the imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through performance in the otherworldly sculptural costumes, I make familiar things unfamiliar: giving everyday experiences a new meaning. I create a new world that offers an escape from the daily routine and our mundane way of seeing. Fantasy helps us question who we are and who we can become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are the people wearing these hybrid sculptures of relevance? How do you want the audience to perceive what lies beneath?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human body is an integral part of the sculpture: not just as a base for it, but as a primary state of communication, not a face. The body also gives expression to wearable costumes through physical presence and movement. I see a human body within a sculpture as a place of visual and mental transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through concealing the identity, I allow anyone who wore it to fully immerse themselves into the character of the sculpture: to express themselves free from stereotypes and social functions. Thus, I defined identity as something changeable and evolving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018We Are Not Ourselves’ by Svetlana Ochkovskay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How does the medium of sculpture fit into your wider practice? Do you see yourself as a sculptor predominantly?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a multidisciplinary artist exploring the intersection between sculpture, installation, performance and film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I make immersive, disorientating installations and wearable sculptures. The installation becomes a physically animated space, in which the sculptures and their surroundings interconnect. I would like to create a hidden world or micro-world, which allows us to completely lose ourselves in space \u2013 the intersection of real and imaginary space, lived and experienced space, perceived and conceived space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary medium is a sculpture within an installation, so I see myself as a sculptor predominantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you tell us more about your video Adapting To The New Reality Of Life Under Lockdown<\/em><\/a> and how these sculptures come into play?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social interconnectedness offers human beings a sense of identity and a way to deal with their everyday emotions. The lockdown is a time of great anxiety and uncertainty. I create a new fantastical world that offers an escape from the daily routine and our mundane way of seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic inspired me to bring to life my wearable sculptures and create a video performance combining real-life scenarios with elements of humour and fantasy. The film is a projection of my imagination from my personal experiences; as a wife, mother and artist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018We Are Not Ourselves’ by Svetlana Ochkovskay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is your creative process? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I usually work on different pieces simultaneously. I have never drawn sketches \u2013 the vision of the finished piece is always in mind. I love to experiment with a variety of materials and techniques. I prefer to work with organic and recycled materials, such as paper, autumn leaves, pebbles, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use paper, tape, wire and paint to create these sculptural forms. I had to cut thousands of different squares of paper, fold them into cones, tape them, then assemble them all with wire to make the form of a sculpture. It has been an incredibly time-consuming process: I have spent one year designing it. The fragile nature of the materials makes costumes vulnerable to breakage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you working on any new projects that you can tell us about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am currently working on the project out | side | in<\/em> curated by Olga Tarasova. Inhabited by a creature from my series, Searching for a Place to Belong, <\/em>The Smallest Gallery in Soho will precipitate into the topographical corpus of its new resident. Opening from July \u2013 September 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am also one of ten winners of the Lucky Dip bursary scheme by \u2018a space\u2019 arts. I am designing a new series of wearable sculptures for a live performance and exhibition at God\u2019s House Tower in Southampton, October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you see your practice evolving?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would love to collaborate with professional creatives, such as performers, dancers, choreographers, camera operators and filmmakers. I am interested in producing a professionally filmed moving image piece and disseminating my wearable sculptures beyond live events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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