Oksana

My art includes works made from fine art papers as well as recycled materials. This results in artworks in the form of installations, wall reliefs and three-dimensional objects. The focus of my art is the individual human being and his or her characteristics, which are visualized with character-like qualities of the papers in my artworks.

Q&A

Artist Statement

My passion is paper art. I discovered this material as a medium for my artistic work during my trip to China. The focus of my work with paper is to get to know the medium and its characteristic properties to be able to use and thematise them in my artistic process.Paper is cut, torn, burnt or pulped to make objects. It can even be shaped into three-dimensional pictures and objects in the form of paper dust.Making art out of paper is like meeting new people. This medium is so alive, versatile and individual that I equate it with human characters and makes this surface communicate again as an object.

What craft do you work with?

I work almost exclusively with the medium of paper and use it to create installations, objects, reliefs and wall installations. My techniques include scalpel cutting, scissor cutting, laminating technique, self-developed wet winding techniques as well as deforming techniques of stone paper.Since returning to Germany from China in 2014, where I first came into contact with Asian paper types, I have been exploring and experimenting with different types of paper to give this surface a body again.

In doing so, I love time-consuming and delicate work with this material. The small details and the challenge of creating something new while transforming the character of the material into an artistic statement fascinates me and inspire me a lot. I love fine work like cutting paper with scissors or a scalpel. Hearing and feeling the material help me to understand it. With each cut, the depth of its character reveals itself to me and allows me to better appreciate the material and vision with it.

What inspires you to work with this craft?

The inspiration for my work is the liberation of the subject from the surface imposed on it – the paper. Paper is my passion. I work almost exclusively with this material and create installations, objects, reliefs and paintings from it. Important in this craft for me is the cutting – the chopping of a large white surface means for me the search for characteristics and backgrounds of the characters. The subsequent joining of the elements should result in something harmonious and lively, a real personality.

How do you start your creative process?

This includes, for example, scalpel or scissor cutting of fine elements. This process is very pleasant, but also exhausting because the work requires a lot of physical effort and endurance. At the same time, it is very relaxing and pleasant for the mind because you spend a lot of time with your thoughts as well as with the perception of the material in this meditative process.

I begin my creative process with a vision for the material and then, in a time-consuming process, I create the individual elements that will make up the whole work. The more difficult part of the work begins with assembling the individual elements into a work. Since the shapes
and orientations of the individual small elements differ, precision and high concentration are required in the artistic process to ensure flowing structures and a clean finish.

How would you best describe your workspace and what tools could you not do without?

My workplace is a light-flooded temple of order. In my studio, several work surfaces such as tables are indispensable. Standing as well as sitting workstations are very important because for fine and precision work a stable seat is irreplaceable. Large-scale work, on the other hand, requires a standing table at which you can work standing for hours without getting back problems. The most important indispensable instruments are a ruler, scalpel and scissors.

Are there new techniques you would like to try?

I would have loved to try paper scooping. However, this technique contradicts my principles enormously, as I rather destroy the surface of my Work than create it.

What have you learnt or the best advice you have received that you would like to share with fellow crafters?

The best advice I have received so far was: DO JUST WHAT YOU LOVE IN YOUR LIFE! And that’s what I do. My art is my dream and I live it out the way I want to, as a paper artist. I would love to combine my art with crafts from the field of metal or wood because I find the special composition of the lightness and softness of paper and hard materials very exciting and lively