"Ruslana’s art mirrors the generational trauma of post-Soviet era and finds ways out of difficult situations through different artistic forms. Determination and the ability to combine different materials, a sincere desire to discover new structures and look for new meanings." - I. Danilevsky
Working with images, i study the role of the Slavic woman in both post-Soviet and Western society and pop culture. I frequently write about and take notes on the topics of instrumentalization, marginalization of Eastern Europeans, Anti-Eastern European and Anti-Slavic sentiments, which to this day can be traced in mainstream culture. This ranges from popular shows like 90 Day Fiancé, 'harmless' jokes among friends to impactful political decisions.
I reside, study, and work in Germany, a nation with a deep-seated history of colonialism and descrimination towards Eastern Europe. Even now, people like me, seen as "Eastern," continue to face discrimination and exclusion.
It is also very difficult to self-identify as a person who grew up in a post-Soviet country with numerous traumas inflicted by Russian colonization. My identity has essentially been caught between two empires from the western and eastern flanks, and this has continued from generation to generation.
On the other hand, I am a sucker for a good joke and a big fan of irony. So I tend to juxtapose completely outlandish historical facts and social situations I encounter on the web with a serious emotional embodiment of myself as a woman in a vunerable state; being exposed on the Internet.
Most of my practices take place in a digital realm, although I love to create textures physically—experimenting with printing, screening, putting dirt, glue, saliva, dust, etc on a lens, filming with various cameras including VHS, iPhone, webcam, and security cameras, and layering the footage. The same goes for photography. I am fascinated by textures; there was a time when I was painting, but I soon realized that what I was doing was just creating new textures on canvas that were used in digital works like photos or videos.
The only "true" physical practice I engage in is ceramics. I love to work with this material for similar reasons: you can create so many textures while mixing your own glazes. Plus, there is the meditative aspect of digging the fingers deep in the clay, squeezing, twisting, and touching this beautiful material.
Artists who have influenced my work include Blue Noses Group, Serhei Parajanov, Egle Rakauskaite, Kristina Norman, Gulnara Kasmalieva and Almagul Menlibayeva.
Photo by Isaak Danilevsky