Karolina Uskakovych
Karolina is one of the artists selected for (Re)Grounding, a programme of research residencies exploring the climate emergency in post-industrial contexts in partnership with IZOLYATSIA, arts producers in Ukraine. (Re)Grounding is part of the UK/Ukraine Season organised by the British Council and Ukrainian Institute.
She is a designer, artist, and photographer whose practice examines entanglements of nature, culture, and technology. The concept of traditional ecological knowledge - local learnings and rituals that are passed on over generations - is central to her work. While the concept has largely applied to indigenous groups, Karolina has deployed it more widely to think through ecological knowledge accumulated over generations in other contexts. In Ukraine, for example, traditional ecological knowledge continues to play a key part in many people’s lives, as it has historically in the UK, and perhaps still does in some spheres of life, such as communal gardens, allotments, and amongst artisans and sustainable businesses. Connected to this, Karolina is also interested in the spirit of place – Genius Loci – which is often depicted as a snake in Roman mythology. To explore these themes, she has been getting her hands dirty, experimenting with earthly and agricultural materials – soil, compost, grain, and salt dough – that emphasise the fluid connections between humans, technologies, and nature.
Karolina is co-founder of the Uzvar_Collective and Art Director for the magazine Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review. She is also the artist in residence with the Digital Ecologies research group.
She is a designer, artist, and photographer whose practice examines entanglements of nature, culture, and technology. The concept of traditional ecological knowledge - local learnings and rituals that are passed on over generations - is central to her work. While the concept has largely applied to indigenous groups, Karolina has deployed it more widely to think through ecological knowledge accumulated over generations in other contexts. In Ukraine, for example, traditional ecological knowledge continues to play a key part in many people’s lives, as it has historically in the UK, and perhaps still does in some spheres of life, such as communal gardens, allotments, and amongst artisans and sustainable businesses. Connected to this, Karolina is also interested in the spirit of place – Genius Loci – which is often depicted as a snake in Roman mythology. To explore these themes, she has been getting her hands dirty, experimenting with earthly and agricultural materials – soil, compost, grain, and salt dough – that emphasise the fluid connections between humans, technologies, and nature.
Karolina is co-founder of the Uzvar_Collective and Art Director for the magazine Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review. She is also the artist in residence with the Digital Ecologies research group.
