'In Slavic folklore, home is also the place of house spirits, the domovoi and kikimora,’ explains Anna Perach, who was born in Ukraine in the final years of the Soviet Union. Her family moved to Israel when she was seven; Anna brings out photographs of the house she grew up in there, drawing attention to the rich colours and pattern, the rugs and the clear ‘Slavic identity’ of the interiors. These have been a fertile source of inspiration for a practice that marries domestic craft with myth-driven performance.
Employing the ancient method of tufting – primarily used for making carpets – Anna creates wearable sculptures with a beguiling brightness and tactility that is at odds with the narratives they reference. ‘I am interested in the monstrous feminine and how women – I started with Slavic fairy tales before moving on to the plays of Euripides and Aeschylus, magic and the history of witchcraft – are universal in their archetypes. And often limited to maternal and sexual roles,’ she says. ‘I want to give them more shape and form, both literally and figuratively, and explore how they relate to our own private selves, how they exist in all of us.’
Together with her partner, Anna relocated 10 years ago to the UK. Her studio is one of several in Gasworks, a contemporary arts organisation next to the Oval cricket ground in south London; they are subsidised and awarded with five-year tenancies.
There is a work in progress on the frame, shaggier than those that are finished and mounted on wooden stands. ‘I carve them,’ she says, holding up a machine that, as she explains, ‘was originally used for sheep shearing’. The sculptures, which she refers to as ‘skins’, are made according to patterns – ‘just as you would for a garment’. Though she will try them on as she goes, she employs others to wear them for performances: ‘They have a different awareness of their bodies and really make them come alive.’
In 2022, Anna won The Ingram Prize, one of the leading awards for contemporary artists, which was established to celebrate and support them early on in their careers. At the time of our visit, she is preparing a solo exhibition for the gallery space at Gasworks, and navigating commitments for group shows in the UK, the US, Italy and Australia. The resulting workload means that pieces occasionally make their way home, to be stitched together at her kitchen table. But, regardless of the sculptures’ location, she observes that ‘the domestic space is a mirror of oneself – so, for me, home will always be a place where mythology resides.’
‘Anna Perach’ is at Gasworks, SE11, on February 1-April 28. ‘A Spirit Inside’, featuring work by Anna alongside that of other artists, is at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, on March 21-September 1.
