Viki Berg
Viki Berg, originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and now based in Berlin, has created a thought-provoking series titled “Garden of Monsters.” Inspired by Ukrainian folk art, she uses the tufting technique to create a world where flowers and monsters coexist, challenging our perceptions of beauty. Her exhibition, “Der rote Faden - Follow the Thread” is a testament to the power of art to connect us to nature and each other.
Pictures Ivo Faber
Hi Viki, how are you today?
Hi, I’m great. Thanks. I’m resting a little bit now after half a year’s intense preparation for the exhibition. But I’m also looking for someone else to implement my new ideas and projects with. I go to university and enjoy the summer Berlin.
Where are you from and where are you based?
I come from Ukraine, the city of Kharkiv. But after a full-scale invasion I have been living in Berlin for two years.
How and when did the idea of creating a Garden of Monsters come up?
Everything happened quite organically and it was a gradual development. It all started with a series of works called “Flowers” in a primitive artistic style. These are individual, diverse flowers on a milky background, where each flower is a separate projection, but when put together they form an herbarium that I’m collecting piece by piece. I was inspired by the Ukrainian decorative-ornamental folk painting "Petrykivka", which holds a certain symbolism as our ancestors believed that these ornaments served not only a decorative function but also acted as symbols of protection. “Nature” and “beauty” are two powerful tools that can stop evil. I like to carry these meanings in my works. They were created in the middle of 2022.
At the beginning of 2023, I began to question the notion of “beauty” and reflect a lot on this topic, because not everything we consider beautiful truly is. We are influenced by the society in which duality is so strongly developed. This is how I decided to show it too, leading to the creation of “Flower Monsters,” where for some, these may not be monsters at all, but everyone sees something different from the usual “beautiful” in them. For this reason, in the exhibitions, I mixed these two types of flowers to give people the opportunity to reflect on duality in the context of “beauty.”
Thus, the "Garden of Monsters" was born, where I showcase my reflection on this and other meanings. It is not only about embodying visual images but also about delving deeply into the psychology of human existence. I believe that our consciousness can create images that we perceive as monsters, although in reality, they may be something else. These could be our fears, unexplored corners of our inner world, or simply unusual forms of expressing our thoughts and emotions.
The garden of carpet flower-monsters became not only my creative project but also my reflection on how we perceive the world around us. It is an invitation to think about the nature of our perceptions of fear and monsters, and how we can transform them into something beautiful and inspiring. My art becomes a bridge between reality and imagination, where each flower gains its unique story and significance.
What technique did you use and how much time did you spend?
This technique is called tufting, and what attracts me the most is the ability to create anything, for example, carpet sculpture. On one hand, this technique is quite limiting, as it is difficult to convey detail and the diversity and mixing of colors is rather problematic, along with other pitfalls. However, it offers a very interesting opportunity to work to the fullest within these constraints.
Since this is a very meticulous and multi-stage technique, it took approximately six months to create the “Garden of Monsters.” My favorite part was knitting the lianas; I was fascinated by how they would complement my project and create a complete immersion for the viewer in my "Garden of Monsters." Special thanks to my mother, who helped me complete my exhibition with a knitted canvas on the floor, measuring 13 square meters, which took her three months to finish.
Could you tell us more about the exhibition (on view at KIT in Düsseldorf, Germany until 15.09)?
This is the "Der rote Faden - Follow the Thread" exhibition curated by Jessica Gilles. All four artists are united by textile media, yet we each choose different techniques to express our art, such as tufting, sculpture, embroidery, fabric illumination, and weaving. In this exhibition, we mainly presented our new projects, where we are all connected by thread in both a literal and metaphorical sense. It is a kind of manifesto about what is happening in the world today, in a global sense, and our guiding principles are faith in nature, society, and art.
Where do you usually find inspiration?
My inspiration always comes from nature, this perfect system where everything works very precisely, yet there is a great deal of adaptation. There are no definitions associated with dichotomy. It is an eternal, perfect system where we, as rational beings, are still learning to accept and learn from nature. And this is another thought of inspiration and analysis: how nature and humans intertwine, how we "play" with it, and if we remove the physical aspect, how similar we are. It is all very interesting.
Could you name 3 of your main favorite artists and why?
Olena and Olha Kulchytska played a significant role in the field of authorial artistic textiles and Ukrainian carpet weaving in the 20th century. Unfortunately, these sisters are not as well-known as they deserve to be, but they were at the forefront of the revival of Ukrainian carpet weaving. Their work is incredibly inspiring to me, as Ukrainian women fought for the right to present their art, represent textile media, and on this basis, create schools.
They worked in the graphic style, which, in my opinion, is a wonderful combination with carpet weaving. Despite the different and unusual styles, their works demonstrate how one can experiment with textiles. The use of folk motifs, everyday scenes, depictions of animals, and natural elements in their works uniquely documents culture and traditions.
Maria Prymachenko was an outstanding Ukrainian artist known for her works in the primitive style. She drew inspiration from the world around her, especially from nature and animals. I am fascinated by how her naive and whimsical depictions of nature, which at first glance may seem childlike and fantastical, convey deep meanings. Her works reflect social issues, war, and even tragedies such as the Chernobyl disaster.
Prymachenko skillfully used bright and vibrant colors, which, combined with her unique images, created an effect of complete immersion in her world. She not only depicted the beauty and magic of nature but also conveyed her experiences and reflections on complex life situations. Her works are deeply connected to Ukrainian folk traditions and culture, giving them special significance and value.
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist known for her abstract paintings. A month ago, I visited her exhibition in Düsseldorf, and her works amazed me. It was a great surprise to discover that she was among the first to create abstract paintings. Interestingly, she claimed that her hands were guided by higher powers. This prompts reflections on the interaction between consciousness and subconsciousness, and what holds predominance.
Her exploration of occultism opens fascinating perspectives in art that defy conventional norms. Her profound contemplations on the world, the genesis of life, and the small forms she hyperbolized, along with the scales of her works, present a significant challenge.
