Between Worlds
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anya Dikareva uses printmaking, painting and textile traditions to evoke performative environments. She holds an MFA from University of Oregon and a BFA from University of Minnesota. Her work has been supported by the Fulbright Foundation. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Carrizozo Artist Colony, New Mexico, at Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA, among others. She exhibits her work nationally and internationally. She has collaborated with artists in Portland, OR, Los Angeles and San Francisco to create immersive events and performances. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
Statement
Anya Wild, my alternate name, is a translation of my Ukrainian name, Dikareva, which literally means “wild cry,” or “feral cry.” An improvisational, immediate approach to material permeates my work. I strive to include a whimsical perspective, challenging the assumptions of civilized life and harnessing the potential of play for self-discovery.
As a Ukrainian refugee, my childhood was charged with transience, communication conflicts, and cultural adaptation. My work now channels these experiences through wearable forms and performative actions. Props and wearable sculptures hybridize the human figure by emphasizing, restraining and directing body movements to exercise a nonverbal level of exchange.
My work has always been rooted in the inability of language to fully express my experience. I am aware of the limitations of translation and the ambiguity of words in different cultural contexts. I seek an intrinsic understanding beyond words and engage craft traditions which span cultural rifts. By knitting, sewing and employing other enduring textile techniques in combination with repurposed materials, I fabricate sculptures that speak about our universal connection to each other and our surroundings. I uphold performance and play as worthy vehicles of insight into selfhood and contingency, while I also strive to accept and abstract aspects of historical hardship and loss.