Nastia Gladushchenko is an artist and multi-disciplinary creative encouraging interactions between friends and strangers through experiential work. She works as an artist, photographer, florist, interior designer and teacher between Australia and Belgium.
We’ve been following Nastia’s work closely in recent years and when the opportunity to have her collaborate on our client project for The Galeries retail precinct in Sydney arose, we were excited to see what she would create. Check out her Inner Gold installation and read on to get to know what makes Nastia tick.
How would you describe your work as an artist?
Ethereal, playful and immersive. My work addresses the interconnectedness of humans and the plant world.
Who and what inspires you creatively and professionally?
Marina Abramovic, plants, flowers, moody weather, Rebecca Louise Law and my partner and his obsession with light.
What is your creative process like?
My pieces are site-specific so I start with a site visit, watch how the light changes there and take a lot of photographs. I develop my concepts through models, experimentation with materials, sketches, drawings and paintings and digital visualisations help me to understand the scale of my works and how they will respond to each site. I have a little studio in a heritage cottage in Annandale, Sydney, surrounded by parkland and vegetable gardens so I mostly work from there.
What kind of commercial projects have you worked on?
Most recently I worked on a five-metre long hanging piece made of dried wheat for an immersive experience for a vodka brand and not long ago I had the opportunity to design and build a massive, suspended installation made of bamboo foliage, to celebrate the Lunar New Year in the central business district of Sydney. I love to collaborate with and create work for brands that value the natural environment and wish to create multi-sensory experiences for the public.
How do you approach a new client brief?
I always start on site with the client, ask a lot of questions, listen, scribble, and then go play in the studio.
What has been your favourite work to date?
Probably my ‘Assembling Life‘ suspended woven grass and wildflower installation that took over a gallery space last winter. It was epic, evolved over 10 days, smelled earthy and wonderful and immersed the public through workshops and a concert amongst the work.
What are your favourite books?
Walk through Walls by Marina Abramovic, In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and Art as Therapy by Alain de Botton are the current favourites.
Tell us about the workshops you hold.
I run workshops parallel to the work I am showing or working on as a way to immerse visitors in the piece or show. They change and evolve regularly and are always about connecting the public with nature. Currently, I’m finishing up a phase of grass and flower weaving workshops in Sydney and Brussels.
Do you have anything exciting coming up?
I’m working on designing some upholstery textiles inspired by my mural pieces for a bar in Sydney which I cannot wait to see printed. I am also dreaming up a new show to bring together my mural and installation works which I will present in either Sydney or Brussels – watch this space.
Artist: @nastiagladu
Client: @thegaleries
