Galleri Konstepidemin with AIR Konstepidemin (the International Group of our organisation), focus this year on our international artists and we proudly presents the work of three international and current artists-in-residence: Natalie Baxter (IASPIS grant holder, US), Asami Togawa (JP), and Natalia (Tasha) Katsouba (STATUS project grant holder, BEL).
”my work playfully pushes controversial issues that have become points of division in today’s social and political landscape. Through approachable work, I unpack topics such as the debate over gun control, masculine aggression and gender biases, the virtual rise of hate speech, as well as exploring expressions and swaying feelings of American patriotism. Using quilting and sewing techniques passed down to me from my maternal grandmother, I create soft sculptures and quilted wall hangings that subvert recognizable objects into something familiar in shape alone.” Natalie Baxter.
Asami Togawa creates mixed media sculptural collages, focusing on landscape and repetition in daily life. Asami’s works often challenge the viewer’s perception of space, its dimensions and relationality.
The work of Tasha Katsouba starts from costume design and ends with performance, or the activation in context of her elaborately political fashion pieces. Her costumes contrast hyper- aggression and femininity, with a glimpse of drag, and her performances relate the clad body of the artist to public space, and to the Belarusian protests from 2020–2021.