Artem Bortnyk

Multidisciplinary artist

ResidencyOstriv Platform

Hosting periodAutumn - winter 2023

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BIO

He was born between the Dnipro and Donetsk, and from childhood he noticed that he was not like everyone else. They took me to psychologists, but I should have taken myself to them. I was better than others everywhere, and I could not find equals. Art school, quarrels, moving to Kharkiv — Academy of Arts, practice in garage hub, volunteering — BUR, at festivals: Bezviz, Gogolfest, Bakota hub, Republic. Travels, galleries, exhibitions. I combined a bohemian lifestyle and work in various industries with interesting complex machines to combine the incompatible. And now I’m finally starting to find my place in this world. A place where I can be useful and feel the benefit I can bring to this society. Perhaps — to combine a deep sense of aesthetics, a sense of beauty and skills thanks to which it can be brought to life, to give it form. The form — which will be reflected in the eyes of another person and make him think about the meaning of his existence and his own possibilities for improving the world around him — this is probably it. Now I know exactly my worth, and my goal is to create exquisite, beautiful toys — heirlooms to be born and die with. Toys — which remain your companion regardless of where you are today and where you will be tomorrow. I am worthy of being born and dying with me. I am also grateful to the Artists at Risk (AR) residency on the «Ostriv» platform, this adventure became an important and valuable experience for me. Thank you)

Story of experience of risk, relocation and/or exile

Life began to collapse — after moving from Kharkiv, a year of living in Kyiv, I had to live where I didn’t want to live and work for very little money. I borrowed from a girl and got a job as a courier after production and broke my head on a bicycle, almost all the equipment failed — it was even difficult to think about continuing artistic activities. I knew there was an artist scene because many of my artist friends were in residencies, but I thought residencies were foreign. I am very glad that I found the Island and had the experience of residency with the support of AR. Now I am more confident in the future — I am creating a brand of children’s toys, robots that can play the violin by themselves and I am learning to play the violin myself) I have finally made progress in realizing my long-standing dream and am trying to combine all the skills acquired during my life, studying at the Academy of Arts , work at productions and volunteering. I have always chosen practice over work — an opportunity to gain new experience over money. In order to combine so much of it in one moment to create something beautiful. Thanks to the conversation with the psychologist, I understood a little better, answered my questions and now I can implement all the accumulated knowledge. Children’s musical toys… robots that play music… my own space… I feel like I’m getting closer to my goal and I like it.

Projects created during the residency period

Description: «Dog puddles» is an experimental journey into the world of creative expression, which combines the bold expression of the artist and the emotional depth of communication through art. In this ritual, the artist-discoverer decided to embark on his own journey to face his creative fear and make it interact with inspiration. The Patron dog is a symbol of satire at the request of society on pop, uninteresting, silly expressions of art. The projector is a tool of cheap digital production.

Synopsis: In this art ritual, the artist reveals his state of mind through the quintessence of unpredictability — the patron’s ugly dog. Watercolor techniques, rich colors, scale reproduction — create a platform for emotional expression and discovery. A key element is the collaboration with the mysterious student art, who embodies the role of the owner of the echoing red bucket of water. This red rebirth becomes a refined ritual symbol of the unification of creative energies and a powerful means of bringing the subject of reproduction closer together, i.e. society’s request to artists, namely the secondary reproduction of the ritual image of exaltation, which, like a «broken telephone», is the cause of self-destruction in primary sensory damage. Wiping paint and spontaneously mixing colors become part of an artistic ritual, where creative mistakes turn into unexpected masterpieces. This project is an intimate story about the joint, collegial voicing of vibrations flying through the air. This is a condemnation of the modern generally accepted interpretation of the role of art in public opinion. Which reveals the beauty of creativity, going beyond the usual boundaries and utilizing the essence of freedom and expression.

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