"It's magic." Olesya Dzuraeva about linocut and new Kyiv

/ The Interview /
The beauty of urban everyday life. The aesthetics of the industrial zone and the fresh ones that grew up in the middle of the metropolis are made of glass. Ukrainian artist Olesya Dzuraeva calls to accept the city with its gradual but irreversible changes.

Recently, she presented her new one to the metropolitan audience a series of works in the Reflection linocut technique. The hero of Olesa Juraeva's art project – Kyiv without decorations. Kyiv, how a person sees it in his everyday life - on the daily route from home to work. PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA talked to the master of graphics about her life, work and transformation of the city.

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: First, I would like to know a little about you. You were born in Dushanbe. How did you end up in Ukraine?

Olesya Dzuraeva: Yes, I was born in Tajikistan. And with the collapse of the USSR, we moved to Ukraine. I am only a quarter Tajik. My dad is half Tajik. Both my grandmothers were born in Ukraine and have exclusively Slavic roots. But when we returned here, all ties with distant relatives were lost. But then everything was done simply: wherever the parents were transferred, they went there. My father is a professional athlete-cyclist, at that time he was already a coach, got a place in the children's and youth sports school of Dnipropetrovsk.

"Twilight", linocut, 2016.

PM: How old were you then?

O. D.: I was 6-7 years old. It was 1989. Actually, I don't remember well the period when we lived in Tajikistan. Until the age of 7, children live in their own mythical world, they exist in the warmth of their parents and pay attention to some completely different things. They have other priorities and other values.

PM: Mom is a geologist, dad is a cyclist. How did you get into art?

O. D.: I graduated from an art school, although I never seriously thought about being an artist. But in the 9th grade, she decided to prepare for admission to a graphic designer. I studied graphic design at the university in Dnipropetrovsk. Then she moved to Kyiv and transferred to the Kyiv State Institute of Decorative and Applied Art and Design named after M. Boychuk. While studying, we got acquainted with various graphic techniques - etching, linocut, engraving on cardboard. I was very interested in this, and I began to do something in addition to the tasks at the institute. Somehow, everything happened very quickly, and my first personal exhibition took place while I was still at the institute. However, there was no single concept, the works were in different techniques.

"Noise of the city 4", linocut, collage, 2014

PM: Why did you decide to focus on linocuts?

O. D.: An hour after graduating from the institute, I entered maternity leave. There was no time for the workshop, but I continued to draw. I really like to draw from nature. And I can say that drawing (I drew with a gel pen) pushed me to switch to linoleum. I started cutting my first works at home, before there was a studio. In principle, linocut is not the queen of graphics. Etching is considered more complex, more in demand. But after the first prints, I realized that linocut is not only black and white, it is possible to achieve different tones. This fascinated me. Soon it will be 10 years that I have been working in linoleum, and I can still technically grow in it. With each new job, I set myself some new tasks. And I'm still not tired of it! So now this is my main technique. Although from time to time I do some small works in engraving, mezzo-tinto.

No matter what technique you start working with, there are no standard techniques. If you work in a standard way, it will not cause interest.

But in general, circulation graphics like immersion in technology. No matter what technique you start working with, there are no standard techniques. If you work in a standard way, it will not cause interest. And since only you accumulate technical experience, you can speak freely. In addition, there is an element of surprise in the circulation schedule. And in general, this is such a magical process. For example, people come with me to try to make something in linocut, and when they cut, I see that they do not get pleasure from it. And then we go to print, apply paint, and when the sheet rises after passing under the press, and the person sees that the print remains on the paper, it's literally magic. And it still causes me some kind of childish joy.

"Fog", linocut, 2016.

PM: You have two daughters. Do they want to be like mom? Will they go to artists?

O. D.: I absolutely do not insist. I do not think that this is an easy way. Sometimes it seems to me that it is easier to engage in some non-creative activity. Sometimes you want to leave everything at work and not take it home. But it doesn't work out that way for me, there are creative crises. Although recently everything has become so twisted that I, perhaps, suffer more from the lack of free time. More ideas than I can embody. Inspiration and desire to work comes to me only in the process of work. If you take a break, it is very difficult to start again. When something doesn't work out for me, there is no idea, you just have to force yourself to do at least something. After the decree, my first big series was about objects that surround me - some old bicycle, a sewing machine, things that I live with.

As for the girls, as an artist I see that one is more talented in modeling, and the other in drawing. I drew with them only when they were very small - one and a half or two years. When they became more conscious, I delicately moved away from their creative process, because children are terrible imitators. In principle, I think that all children are geniuses, they do very intuitive and true things, things that an adult person cannot decide on, because we are already bound by stereotypes. Now my girls go to very good artists. The younger one is for modeling, the older one is for drawing. This year, she showed interest in computer graphics, went to courses. I believe that this is the future. I don't know if they will become artists, but they will surely love art.

"Reflection", linocut, collage, 2015.

PM: You say that the future is computer graphics. Didn't you want to devote yourself to it?

O. D.: I graduated from graphic design. But to be honest, unfortunately, I never mastered Photoshop and other graphic programs. This, I believe, is the problem of our education, that the person graduating from the university is not adapted to modern conditions. Perhaps it is already different now. Maybe that's why I don't work professionally - I haven't mastered the most important instrument. And here, I do everything with my hands, I control everything. I have not mastered the computer enough to achieve the desired result. But who knows, maybe later, when I have more time, I will deal with it. There are modern printing methods, for example, silk screen, which are inseparably connected with the computer. I don't put a cross on it.

"Reflection 2", linocut, collage, 2018.

PM: Now let's talk about your exhibition. Reflection is a continuation of the series "Where I am". Tell us about your idea.

O. D.: The series "Where I am" is dedicated to Kyiv, but not to the old city. I live in the center, which acquired its face already in the times of the USSR. My workshop is 10 minutes from home (in the metro area "Olympiyskaya". — Editor's Note). But I have not heard of artists who would depict this area. And I thought: this is what interests me. The new city is no less interesting and attractive than the old one. In general, I love the urban landscape - some thermal power plants, industrial zones. All this is already outdated and has its own specific aesthetics. It is not by chance that the series is called "Where I am". These are places where I often pass, where I am constantly. I know how lighting, time of day and year, weather change this place. And in general, when you walk the same streets day after day, you realize that nothing repeats itself.

PM: Your works from four years ago were presented at the exhibition - this is a time of difficult events for the country. How have recent years affected the urban landscape?

O. D.: Probably less advertising now. The landscape became cleaner. And on the other hand, a large number of new ones appeared. Three or four complexes have been built in my quarter alone. I walk and every day I see how everything is changing. The landscapes I drew have already changed.

"Noise of the city 1", linocut, collage, 2014

PM: Your collages are of particular interest. How did you come up with this idea?

O. D.: I can do not so many large easel works in an hour - three or four at most. Work on one form takes two to three months. You get tired because it's been a few months and you still can't feel the results. At the same time, of course, I still have not very good prints that do not satisfy me in terms of quality - in terms of tone, color saturation. A certain amount of conditional marriage was accumulating. Somehow I was in the mood, I cut them and put them together like a puzzle - first in a small format. I became interested. The first collages I made were more abstract. This is a mosaic made up of pieces, each of which has its own life. It was impossible to recognize any landscape there. Time passed, and again a certain amount of prints accumulated. I decided that it is possible to try to make something more recognizable. Indeed, in recent years, many glass surfaces have appeared around. They, of course, affect the landscape, some reflections and refractions appear. I tried to convey this idea, rhythms, repetitions - a new series turned out.

"Reflection 3", linocut, collage, 2018.

PM: In this volume we talk about the architecture of the future. It can be seen from your work that you are not afraid of modern architecture, but many people are wary of changes in urban space. How to learn to accept this new thing?

O. D.: Once upon a time, both the telephone and electricity caused a storm of emotions, but you get used to everything. My advice is: you need to travel more, see, be interested - then it's not so scary. Everything is changing. Technologies are changing. We cannot build as we did 100 years ago. Now there are other materials, other conditions, but there is no need to be afraid of this. After all, one way or another will be superimposed on the other, time will process everything a little bit - and we won't even notice how this will also have its own aesthetics.

PM: You say that you are attracted to the city with all its shortcomings. But as a resident of this city, are you not outraged by the neglect of the architectural monuments of past centuries, the general appearance of the capital? For example, intrusive advertising, ugly signs on old buildings.

O. D.: This is part of our history. Now this is becoming less. But there was such a period.

PM: Do you think we will move away from this?

O. D.: Yes, generations change generations. We are like that, our children will already be second, more educated in some sense. What kind of city we will get depends on what we put in them now. This does not mean that we are bad, it's just that there was a period that created a gap between us and Europe. There is a gap in development, but everything is moving in the right direction. There are monuments of Soviet-era architecture that are worthy of world architectural magazines. The same "plate" on Lybedskaya, the Vernadskyi library, the crematorium. These are absolute masterpieces for me. For a while, they wanted to demolish the "plate" - that would be a real loss for the Kyiv landscape. I believe that such things should be preserved.

"Reflection 6", linocut, collage, 2018.

PM: Kyiv in 20 years. What do you think he will be like?

O. D.: It's hard to guess. I can tell you how I would like to see it: more underground parking, less advertising, more greenery and parks. So that industrial zones turn into spaces for museums and creative workshops. I think he will become so. He will definitely be interesting. And now for people who come here from European countries, from Asia, we are very interesting. We are different. And yes, we will develop, we will not be like others. And that's great!

PM: You often participate in international exhibitions. Tell me, is Ukraine lagging behind the rest of the world in graphics and linocuts, in particular, or not?

O. D.: Oh no! We lag behind only in activity. For example, I am the only one representing Ukraine at many international events. But we are interesting. I participated in several American Print Exchanges, print exchanges: this is when you send your print run in 25 copies and get back a folder with the works of 25 other participants, including your own. And you look: they mostly already have digital art, and here is mine, made in an archaic technique. But if they invite, it means that it is relevant and interesting. I can't say that we are lagging behind. We have many wonderful graphic designers and artists. For various reasons, we still work in classical techniques, but we have a good school and we are hardworking. I think that some time will pass and there will be more participants from Ukraine at international exhibitions.