Statement
Anya Wild, my alternate name, is a translation of my Ukrainian name, Dikareva, which literally means “wild cry,” or “feral cry.” An improvisational, spontaneous approach to material drives my process. I strive to include a nonsensical 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.
I create wearable forms as entry points to basic human experiences, recognizing the body as common ground for all. These sculptures activate a journey of self-exploration and interaction with others by stimulating bodily awareness, extending and modifying the limits of the human figure. I invite participants to step into a different state of mind simply by wearing an object.
My work has always been rooted in the inability of language to fully express my experience. The limitations of translation and the ambiguity of words in different cultural contexts led me to seek forms of understanding beyond words, to find a more fundamental, primordial common sense. I mobilize craft traditions spanning cultural rifts and connecting generations. By knitting, sewing and employing other fiber techniques in combination with repurposed everyday 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 agency, while I also strive to accept and process aspects of historical hardship and loss.
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, and Salmon Creek Farm near Mendocino, CA. 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.
