Satellite Voices

Moscow / Русский

Ekaterina Efimova

February 15, 2012

Introducing the young video artist in search of a mysterious Russian soul

• Text by Kristina Voytovich

Ekaterina Efimova started out as a TV journalist where she learnt the basics of cutting and making videos. The world of video art was opened to her by meeting artists whilst working later on at the National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow. She is currently studying at the Rodchenko Moscow School Photography and Multimedia following her desire to gain deeper knowledge about this kind of contemporary art, that became her chosen medium of expressing her world. In her head an idea about a Russian spiritual matrix...



Satellite Voices:  Why did video art attract you?
Ekaterina Efimova: I like the video art because the time flows as it does in real life. Video art gives me an opportunity to think about the issues that concern me as an artist. These are such eternal topics as death, patriotism, urbanism, frustration, mistakes, and society. Through the moving images you can show the audience something familiar to them, by pointing out particular things and express your own attitude towards them. I seriously believe that everyone sees only their own world. Video art can tell about your vision of the world. The most important thing in any art work is an idea or a thought. Sometimes you can use a painting or a novel to express what you want to, but video suprisingly allows you to compile all these techniques.

SV: What was your most challenging project?
Ekaterina Efimova: My most challenging project is happening right now working in my studies on my master piece. I gained profound knowledge of contemporary arts and techniques from my tutor, the great artist, Kirill Preobrazhensky. Before there was only me and my works. That is why it is so complicated today. I feel it will get more complicated tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, because the times are getting harder for our country. Everything that was hidden before is becoming visible. Now I have to choose wether to close my eyes like others do, or to look. It’s hard to keep them open. 

SV: What Russian artists do you recommend on checking out?
Ekaterina Efimova: I like the young Russian video artist Polina Kanis. She makes fine and sharp works involving the themes of growing up, age, gender and patriotism. No wonder that she got the Kandinsky Prize this year. I would also recommend on checking out Vika Chupakhina, Lena Koptyaeva, Lena Artmenko and Victor Alimpiev. I like his style and the style of Blue Soup group. That's who may be already called the living classics.

SV: What are you working on right now?
Ekaterina Efimova: I am working on the idea of​​ a Russian spiritual matrix. I'm very interested in particular features of Russians. I want to make a 3D printing sculpture in order to see how a very important text to me, will look on a pedestal. We discuss with Kirill a creation of works devoted to death and immortality. We also had an exhibition in Center for Contemporary Culture Garage together with Skolkovo where I made robots out of old gadgets. I was very interested in the speed in which the world is changing, and how quickly we stop using the things that we weren't able to live without a short time ago.