Katya Kan
Katya Kan works in a range of media including performance, film and painting. In recent weeks she has intrigued Le Document. Take a look at her site and then read this funsize e-mail exchange we had with her...
Tell me about the shows and events you’ve got coming up. Are you feeling excited about them?
“Yes, I am definitely excited about my events. The one at Hoxton Cabin features my monochrome drawings as well as a DJ set. The one in Hackney (Spacetime) is a group show I'm curating on the Bergsonian notion of space and time, explored via different media ranging from video art to installation.”
Your father Alex Kan is a writer. Does he take much of an interest in your work? Has he ever collaborated with you?
“Yes, I have collaborated with my father on a short film. As well as this student film: The Wardrobe Master. I am currently customising a series of T-shirts with my father's quotes about the nature of time.”
You are always very well dressed. Are clothes and costumes your biggest extravagance? What's the most you've spent on an item of clothing?
“I would say my interest in clothing is conceptual. Although I like beautiful things, I invest in design rather than branding. That said, the most I've spent on an item of clothing was a Cavalli dress in Beverly Hills priced at £2,353.86.”
How is your Virtual Girlfriend project going? Has it lowered your respect of men and made you feel sad or has it made you rich and happy?
”The Virtual Girlfriend project is going well although I'm now focusing more on my art practice rather than this project. I have respect for men and the project is open to all genders and orientations. I seek to help clients with their inner wellbeing as well as provide them with lockdown solace. The project has brought me both joy and distress at the same time.”
What parts of Europe would you like to visit one day?
“I've visited most of Europe, but would love to go to the Swedish fjords one day, as I've always been mesmerised by Viking culture.”
What are your strengths as an artist?
“My strengths as an artist are my inability to fit into one limiting niche, courage in going through with all of my ideas and being carefree about what people think about my work most of the time.”
What do you need to forgive yourself about?
“Strangely enough, I still don't forgive myself for not taking German at A-level as I was quite good at it. On a more serious note, I used tend to cut people off too abruptly instead of being transparent about what upset me in their behaviour, so that is something I need to work on.”
Are there any films that always make you cry?
"Forest Gump and In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai.”
How many books by Dostoevsky have you read and which had the biggest impact on you?
“I've read about five books (including short stories by Dostoevsky) and I was most moved by Netochka Nezvanova”
Tracey Emin once said she needed art like a God. What’s your relationship with art like? Does it give your life meaning / could you stop?
“Art provides a form of Logotherapy (according to the notion of Viktor Frankl), meditation and solace during emotionally difficult times, so on this note I agree with Tracey Emin.”
Are you more of a cat person or a dog person?
“I'm more of a dog person, but I have cat-like traits within my character.”
Have you ever met one of your heroes?
“James Franco and Anthony Kiedis, both of whomI’ve met, used to fascinate me, but was slightly disillusioned by their actual persona.”
What concerns you?
“I'm concerned by people, who went to top universities and schools and do nothing with their life, as it hurts me that they're letting their potential go to waste and taking up opportunities, which could've been given to more eager parties, hence the injustice of the whole situation”.
When was the last time you thought that life was beautiful and everything felt right?
“The last time I thought that life was beautiful and everything felt right was when I listened to this song I just discovered by one of my favourite bands, Washed Out from Georgia, USA, as it encapsulates a tragicomic experience I had recently.
