Olena Hvozdieva- BA (Hons) Fine Art
Where the Table Used to Be
Olena Hvozdieva’s material approach is rooted in surrendering to the process of making, particularly through hand-built ceramics, where material is guiding the outcome. Through reshaping forms, she explores the ways touch can make an object feel personal, creating a dialogue between herself and the material. Alongside ceramics, she incorporates photography and found objects when a work requires memory, interaction, or a different form of presence. Olena’s work connects childhood memory to broader social history, where domestic traces become symbols of survival, particularly in the context of war and displacement reshaping the meanings of “home.” Drawing inspiration from her grandparents’ house, she engages with domestic spaces and objects to recreate a sense of closeness, while allowing it to remain partly imagined. She explores how personal and collective histories linger within material things, even after the people, places, or circumstances connected to them have changed.
