Berlin-based artist Anastasia Pilepchuk talks us through her embellished creations.
Drawing from her childhood fascination with jewels and embellishments, Russian-born and Berlin-based Anastasia Pilepchuk creates masks that draw upon the robotic combined with the artistic. Speaking to Perfect, the artist examines her thrill of exploration, as well as her affinity towards technology and creating a musically engineered mask with Moritz Geist.
Perfect: What is your earliest memory of fascination for art, jewellery and embellishments?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: When I was a child my parents had a jewellery store and they had a lot of books such as jewellery and art encyclopedias, books of gemstones etc. I would spend lots of time reading the books and looking at pictures from their pages. I clearly remember how I fell in love with Salvador Dali’s The Eye of Time when I was 9 or so. I would look for beautiful stones and pieces of glass on the street and tried to reproduce some of the jewels from my parents’ books. I was listening to the radio from an old cassette recorder while making them and I didn't notice how time was passing. Next memory, I’m 14 years old going to jewellery school - that was the next level. There I learned how to cast and shape metal using different tools and fire. It was fascinating. However, the first mask I made around 9 years ago. I used to perform as a DJ and I made masks for every performance. In the beginning, they were just simple masks with a fabric base but then they evolved into something more difficult and sophisticated.
Perfect: When did you first develop your personal style of work? How would you describe it?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: I can't name my style and it’s difficult to say when it was settled. I think I’m still in progress. I like to explore the world around me and process the experience into my art. I always like learning different techniques and approaches, playing around with materials and meanings. Somehow, I have my own style and it’s not straightforward, it’s rather elusive.
Perfect: From inspiration to elaboration, what can the process of creating a piece look like?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: Every time it’s a new experience. I would say I don’t have the only approach. Sometimes I get some images from my head, dreams, or whatever, and try to convey my vision into pieces. Sometimes I find cool material and think about what I can do with it, how, with this material, I can express my feelings or thoughts.
Perfect: Which have been some of the most challenging designs to work on?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: It’s always difficult and interesting to make masks for projects when I have references and other people involved.
Perfect: With a broad portfolio of diverse projects, which ones stand out the most to you?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: One of the most exciting projects is a collaboration with a German performer, musicologist, and robotics engineer Moritz Geist. We made a mask that activates robots that play musical instruments. I like everything about this collaboration from the working process to the result. I would love to have more opportunities to work with people from different fields like engineers, physicists, chemists, etc. because it’s always an amazing opportunity to look from a different perspective. I like exchanging experience and knowledge and I’m sure that symbiosis can bring something unexpected.
Perfect: What new styles, projects and/or materials would you be interested to try and work with?
Anastasia Pilepchuk: I’m absolutely sure that there are too many things to try. I would love to have more exhibitions and would love to work with more interesting people.
