Olga Chernysheva, From Guard Series, 2009, Courtesy Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin and Foxy Production, New York © Olga Chernysheva
If the papers and current waves of American hysteria are to be believed - Russian spies are everywhere. With this in mind, there hasn’t been a better time to highlight other things Russia and from tomorrow, Olga Chernysheva takes over Calvert 22 (the UK’s first not-for-profit foundation specialising in contemporary art from Russia and Eastern Europe) in East London with a collection of water colours, photography and moving images that uncover a more realistic modern day Russia. The artist has represented Russia at various international art events and this year shone through 500 entrants from all over the world to be shortlisted for the Artes Mudi at the National Museum Cardiff. We Q&A the artist about her memories, influences and experiences.
WONDERLAND: What is your earliest memory of art?
Olga Chernysheva: I was a Soviet child, so I grew up on Soviet animation. My favorite animated film was “My Green Crocodile” by Vadim Kurchevsky. It is about a crocodile who falls in love with a cow. The crocodile would read poetry to the cow. The poem went like this: Baba, babbububu, bububu. The cow understood everything. The film was the product of a breakthrough across the boundaries of ethnicity and race that happened in the 1960s. The film may not have been particularly influential, but it was very convincing in explaining the theme of love as a penetrative force. In this way it reminds me of in the work of Tolstoy, when Levin is in the process of writing the last lines of a love letter and immediately gets an answer. Animation in the USSR was made by talented adults who were often pushed into a niche profession. As a result, they created high culture for children.
What made you want to become an artist?
In my family, no one else liked to draw so my humble interest in art was considered extraordinary. One of my drawings has become almost like a watchword between my father and I. It was called “View of a Rabbit from Behind.” It consisted of two sausage shaped ears and three circles: head, body, and tail. Not long ago, my father had surgery and I used this simple drawing to communicate with my father and help him overcome the effects of his anesthetic. Initially I wanted to become an animator but when I was done with my studies at film school, almost all of the studios had closed. At this time, animators did ‘mechanical’ work on commission from studios in the West and directors looked for any possibility to survive.
Which other artists do you admire?
There are many including George Kuchar and Dmitry Mitrokhin, a Soviet artist that I have recently rediscovered. In England I admire the work of Mark Wallinger.
You create video art, photographic art and watercolours – do you have a preferred method of expression?
I don’t think so. I like a quotation by Ingres: “You have to draw with your eye.” Ideally, that involves putting together the elements of a world. Like in poetry, when a chaotic variety of words and sounds suddenly give rise to meaning. It is a construction that lives on as a new form. It’s like Alexander Vvedensky wrote: “I heard the horses cantering, and couldn’t understand their whispering, I knew that this was an experiment of turning that metal object into tenderness, sleep, sadness, into a drop of light.” The material used for this transformation is of secondary importance to me.
How do you find your subjects for your photographic work?
I don’t look for them. I usually react when it is impossible not to. Or I take pictures of everything without any intention whatsoever.
What was the first camera you bought?
I bought a Leica several years ago. At the institute I made sketches instead of taking photographs. When I started hanging around with people from the world of television, I would take pictures on the cameras that were around without ever really knowing much about them.
How did it feel being short-listed for this year’s Artes Mundi Prize?
I thought of this invitation as an opportunity to take part in an exhibition with strong artists and work with the National Collection of Wales.
What are your plans for the summer?
This summer, I would like to make some black and white photos of naked bodies in landscapes. These naked bodies would be almost unnoticeable so as to not add any tension to the photographs. The inspiration for these photographs comes from a memory I have of seeing a man crossing a river. He put all of his things into a neat bundle on his head, including his boots and crossed naked. It was like he was wearing the river, like the hidden root of a world in which there is darkness, gravity, and a milky light. I want to depict nudity like Cezanne did, as everyday spontaneity.
Olga Chernysheva, Calvert 22, July 1st - 29th August 2010, 22 Calvert Avenue, London, E2 7JP
