MILA CHEPRASOVA
Resident of CUTOUT COLLAGE ART PROJECT: December 2022 - Present
Mila was born in 1988 in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Lives and works in Kyiv. All her life, Mila had various creative hobbies. She realized that she wanted to work and develop in the creative or cultural sphere. But the circumstances turned out differently, in 2010, she received a higher technical education at the Zaporizhzhia State Engineering Academy, continuing to lead an active cultural life within the walls of the university. In fact, she was more interested in that than studying there.
After graduation, she continued to think about which of the creative directions she could realize herself.
In 2011, she realized that she was interested in art, but have not yet seen how it can be implemented, leaving drawing at the level of a hobby.
In 2012-2013, she studied at the «Krok» academy, majoring in «Computer graphics and design». Mila gained knowledge in graphic design, basics of academic drawing, painting and basic knowledge of coding. The latter was also appealing to her, and at that moment in Zaporizhzhia it looked like a more promising direction. So, from 2013 to 2018, she worked in IT.
In 2016, Mila moved to Kyiv. Here at one of the parties, she found herself surrounded by artists and creative people. She realized that Kyiv is a city of many opportunities.
Two years later, in 2018, she faced burnout. She took a break to rest, but it drove her into depression. She began to paint again, because at that time she could not do otherwise. In 2019, Mila met the Kyiv curator Dasha Bilenko, and began a more conscious artistic path. Then she actively develops, studies, participates in exhibitions.
In 2019 and 2021, she completed two courses at the Victoria Burlaka School of Contemporary Art with the support of the Institute of Contemporary Art Problems.
Currently, Mila is developing in the direction of contemporary conceptual art, constantly experimenting with different media, always focusing on the concept. For her, the media is just a method of realizing the idea.
In 2022, she created two military series, and is currently working on the next one.
EXHIBITIONS
2024
- "Look into Yourself", a collective exhibition of CUTOUT residents, CUTOUT COLLAGE STUDIO, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- " Facets ", group exhibition of Ukrainian collage in collaboration with G.ART Gallery, Freiluft Kunst Klub Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- "Facets", group exhibition of Ukrainian collage in collaboration with G.ART Gallery, Cafe Kyiv, Berlin, Germany.
2023
- «FREEDOM» – CUTOUT COLLAGE FESTIVAL KYIV-PARIS 2023, CAC M17, Kyiv, Ukraine and gallery Le Bonheur est Dans L'instant, Paris, France.
- «Children of Dr. Frankenstein 2» – Collective collage exhibition, CAC White World, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «THE MOMENT» – personal collage exhibition, CUTOUT COLLAGE STUDIO, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «Genesis of Being» – Collective collage exhibition by CUTOUT, Gunpowder Tower, Lviv, Ukraine.
- «Beauty Will Save the World» – Group photography exhibition raising awareness about Kinburn Peninsula, Ukraine that is being occupied and destroyed by ruzzia, Frederikshavn Kunstmuseum, Frederikshavn, Denmark.
- «Me and War» – Collective collage exhibition dedicated to the reflections of 2022 ru-Ukrainian war, Museum of Kyiv History, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «PARALLELS» – an exhibition of collages dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor, TUFA, Trier, Germany.
- «Planet Love 3.0» – Ukrainian collage, residents of CUTOUT COLLAGE STUDIO, IMAGURU CLUB, Madrid, Spain.
2022
- «PARALLELS» – an exhibition of collages dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor, Ukrainian Culture Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- «PARALLELS» – an exhibition of collages dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holodomor, National Museum of the Holodomor-genocide, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «One Life», Project Cafe, collaboration with art manager Yaroslava Kramarenko, Chernihiv, Ukraine.
- «Art Through War» – collective exhibition and auction, Urban space 500, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «Genesis of Being» – charity poster exhibition of CUTOUT, Beyond Limits gallery, Berlin, Germany.
- «KAOS» IV International Collage Festival, Mergentaler Street Gallery, Kranj, Slovenia
- «Supernova. Art of Ukraine», collective project «Mur inamovible», Basel Art Center, Curators: Anna Lugovska, Anna Avetova, Basel, Switzerland.
- «A thing from the inner space», Gallery of the Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art, curator — Victoria Burlaka, Kyiv, Ukraine.
2021
- «Slums», art bar Angar, curator - Dasha Bilenko, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «SUNNY MOOD», museum-workshop of I.P. Kavaleridze, curators — Tanya Vasylenko, Tetyana Bas, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «Art as life, life as art», Gallery of the Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art, curator — Victoria Burlaka, Kyiv, Ukraine.
2020
- «Time 0», Gallery of the Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art, curators — Victoria Burlaka and Anton Logov, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- «Wonderland», Gallery of the Institute of Problems of Contemporary Art, curator — Victoria Burlaka, Kyiv, Ukraine.
ARTWORKS
Ecological communication and interaction with oneself and other people, respect and inviolability of another person's personal boundaries is an important topic for me, which I cannot help but think about and which constantly triggers me.
I faced bullying at school. My mother applied traumatic methods of education to me, tried to raise me to be comfortable, instead of caring and trusting myself. When I was 13, she died.
As I grew older, the constant violation of my boundaries by some loved ones brought back childhood traumas every time.
Inferiority is another direction I am working on, as an artist and as a person.
I often observe similar problems in Ukrainian society. This makes my experience not unique, but very important. I am glad that I have the opportunity to talk about it and work on these topics in my art.