POLINA
OSIPOVA

Polina Osipova

Born 1998

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My practice explores Indigenous Chuvash legends and myths at the junction of craft and digital technologies.

I refers to, reflect on and learn from the expertise of my female ancestors, using textiles and archival family photos to explore the threads between past and future - temporal and timeless, creating portals into them from the digital or analogue present. The recurring symbols or photographs in my work create the illusion of an untold stories hidden in the family archives.

My main medium of work is wearable sculpture, textile sculpture, performance, and photography - and it all works together. The wearable sculptures and objects functions as both a just a regular sculpture as well  as  a garment that is performed in and subsequently become part of digital mythology, captured in photos and videos.

I have two most common ways of creating objects which I then transform into wearable sculptures.
I begin with researching a few thousand family photo archive,
I choose a photo, print a copy on an inkjet printer, and transfer the photo onto fabric using my signature gel technique.

Or I use Chuvash myths from my childhood or books, and work directly with the fabric, I don't make sketches or patterns, I cut the fabric, dye it, and sew by hand until I get the right shape, trying to capture the ancient meanings hidden behind the words.
Afterwards, I take self-portraits on a tripod with my objects.

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Through textiles, embroidery, sewing, which are usually closely associated with domestic art, I explore the immersive narrative of Indigenous history  in a modern digital space.