ARTIST PROFILE

Olga Krykun

  • Ukraine (b. 1994 in Odesa)
  • Currently in Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Olga Krykun works predominantly within the media of video installation, sculpture, and painting. Combining elements of storytelling with contemporary symbols, she creates the mischievous mythology of today.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Sum up the main character of your work, your long-term interests and themes.

My work is interdisciplinary, in the sense that it combines elements of storytelling with contemporary symbols to create speculative, fictional narratives.

In my recent work, I’ve been exploring the conflict and tensions between my adolescence, growing up in the 1990s in Ukraine, and life in current Western society. The reality I grew to know has disappeared, and that which we are collectively experiencing now has yet to be understood. Rampant acceleration evokes feelings of anxiety in myself and my peers. My artistic practice is largely an endeavor to curb this, by selecting certain elements or emotions and attempting to understand them. It is often that my work addresses the notion of “fear” or horror. Escapism is a response to fear, and so my work delves deeply into fantasy and surrealism. Another way to battle fear or anxiety is through personal connection and relatability. In this way, I am trying to find new ways and formulas to create collaborative artistic works and environments.


Describe the context of your work – what are your inspirational sources and theoretical starting points, which artists and tendencies do you consider as referential to your work.

I am interested in contemporary philosophy, machine learning’s impact on humanity, and internet folklore like memes, blogs and online communities. The tendencies I appreciate the most, and which are at the core of my work are: new sincerity, new dadaism, and new romanticism.

I am very much influenced by the complex visual aesthetics created by early internet users or digital natives. Growing up in Post-Soviet Ukraine, I was exposed to a very chaotic and colorful environment. As a child in the 2000s, I spent most of my time in souvenir shops located at the massive marketplace outside my city. I was constantly surrounded by imported goods like toys, clothes, and home decor from mainland China.

This experience feels surreal and meaningful at the same time. These goods were made in Chinese factories using cheap labor, and directly imported into a Post-Soviet context. Spending so much time in the belly of late-capitalism has had a deep and lasting impact on myself, and influences my work greatly.


Try to characterize what makes your work specific, wherein lies its force, what makes it different from the work of artists with similar approaches and themes.

I use my genuine emotions to speak through an existing language, while experimenting and modifying that language. I follow very closely the work of my peers and surrounding art scenes, and am reacting, paraphrasing and re-developing my own work to keep a part of my inner self in dialogue with that. I believe by speaking about ourselves we can start a dialogue with others.

In the end, I am trying to make art that is enjoyable for both sides; myself as well as the audience. I want my work to inspire conversations and branches of communication– between myself and the audience, and others.


What is your work process like? Do you deal with preparation and research? How do you search for your themes? How do you choose the media you work in?

I strive to be creative and playful by adopting folk art techniques and combining them with learned artistic techniques.

For example before creating a video, I gather items that can be used as costumes. I have a particular emotion in my mind during the entirety of the process. My videos often include simple narratives based on free synopses, which spontaneously develop during the filming. They are supplemented by new elements arising from unexpected, improvised moments of filming and interactions with the actors. Working with the actors while I’m filming is a collaborative, communal act.

When I am preparing objects or an installation, I do quite the same. I like to use ready-made materials that we’re surrounded by, and create a particular atmosphere or emotion. I am not afraid of spectacularity in the shows. I want people to stay and experience them the same way, as people would experience a music concert.

The question of chosen media is an experimental and live field - I try to be as adaptive as I can in existing structures and communicate with the audience.


What is your vision for the future? How do you want to develop your work and continue your previous projects/realizations? What is your long-term goal/dream?

My fundamental vision is to keep creating. I would like to connect more with other artists who have similar interests and practices as my own. Connection feels important to me in this moment and for the future. I hope that we will find more art institutions (state or self-organized), to help us with that goal. For example, I am currently working on a platform to support young women artists at the beginning of their careers, while currently in self-isolation because of the pandemic. I also endeavor to connect the eastern European art scene more with Western paradigms. As a creator, I wish one day to work on even more complex projects and work within different fields as theater or film.



CV:

Olga Krykun b. 1994, Odesa, Ukraine. Since 2010 lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic.


Education:

2018 – 2021, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Painting studio
2019, National Taiwan University of Arts, MFA Fine Arts Departament
2019, Konstfack, MFA Fine Arts Departament
2018, The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Temporary Arts studio
2016 - 2018, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Supermedia studio
2016, Intership at The Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts, T.E.I. of Athens
2014 - 2016, The Ladislav Sutnar's Faculty of Design and Art of the University of West Bohemia, Intermedia studio
2010 - 2014, Vaclav Hollar College and Secondary School of Fine Arts, Graphic Design

Exhibitions and events:

Solo & duo:

2021, The Garden of my hopes, online

2020, Four Trap Doors, Šachta, Prague, Czech Republic
2019, Dont Panic!, Galerie UM, Prague
2019, EnjoyeTV, Gallery Konstfack, Stockholm
2018 Gylptodon Expert Interview, City Surfer Office gallery, Prague
2018 Basic Instinct Special Cheese, Dům pánů z Kunštátu, Brno
2018 Basic Instinct Spesial Cheeeese, with Adrian Altman, Kreslirna, Prague
2018 Basic Instinct Spesial Feat, with Adrian Altman, curated by Christina Gigliotti, Pragovka, Prague 2018 BAD FACE DAY, Sklad M1, Prague
2017 720/027, NoD, Prague
2017 I’ve painted the gate red, now I think red was the wrong colour with Adrian Altman and Jakub Hajek, korpus., Prague
2017 Freesome, Berlinskej model, Prague


Group:

2021, Reality do you need me?, Four days, Prague, Czech Republic

2021, Beauty Bomb, ISSMAG, Moscow, Russia

2021, Apostasia: Rituals of Letting Go, Garage Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2021, This Mess We’re In, Svetova 1, Prague, Czech Republic

2021, NO ONE SURVIVES THESE EDGES, Galerie Favu, Brno, Czech Republic
2021, BLACK BEEMER > WHITE BOOMER, GAMPA, Pardubice, Czech Republic
2021, Vyšeart, Vyšehrad, Prague, Czech Republic

2021, Body Movement as a Space-Time (Dis)continuity, GAMU, Prague, Czech Republic

2020, DWELLING, Šopa gallery, Košice, Slovakia
2020, Soloshow: CHAPTER 2, soloshow.online
2019, Zhan yi, Yo-Chang Art Museum, New Taipei city, Taiwan
2019, The Martyr’s Tale, Sinkhole project, Pankow cemetery, Berlin, Germany.
2019, NEVŠECHNO/NOTEVERYTHING, Des Fours Palace, Prague, Czech Republic.
2019, Videokemp, Convent of Saint Agnes, National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.
2019, The Shadow of Dream* cast upon Giardini della Biennale, Ukrainian pavilion, Venice, Italy.
2019, a river, a tool, an instep like a half-open book, Konsthall C, Stockholm
2019, Comunite pasta fresca, Kulturní a řemeslný prostor Znak, Prague
2018, ‘TB 2 RL’, +DEDE, Berlin
2018, Come dine with Adrian Altman, Tv Prima, Berlinskej model
2018, ‘Quiet Chamber, Noisy Heart’, Holešovická šachta, Prague
2018 KURS, Atelierhaus Klingental, Raum 103, Basel, Switzerland
2018 Fake Me - Break the Simulation - Be Awesome, galerie amu, Prague
2018 Temporary Arts TV, Bistro 8, Prague
2018 International Virtual Exhibition Unleashing Screensaver
2018 Supernova, Gallery NTK, Prague
2016 Supermedia, Museum of Photography and Modern Visual Media, Jindrichuv Hradec
2016 Nevim, jak tohle dopadne, Galerie Sam83, Ceska Briza
2016 AiC Stefle, Galerie bratri Spillaru, Domazlice
2016 Young Art, STUDENT FEST Atelier Grid, Prague
2015 Don’t. Just... don’t.’, Papirna, Pilsen
2014 Intermedia OPEN STUDIO, galerie Ve stredu, Pilsen
2013 Happening ‘Boobs’, NoD, Prague


Rezidence:

2015, AiC Stefle | Artists in Cottage

Screenings and performances:


2021, Springs.video, It is my country even though I do not belong here, online

2021, Walk with me, Divadlo Alfred ve Dvore, Prague, Czech Republic, online. 

2020, SlowTV at Divadlo X10, Prague, Czech Republic, online.

2017, Fx00136302, performance with Max Lysacek, Hala 17, Holesovicka trznice, Prague, Czech Republic




PRESS