NASTIA GLADUSHCHENKO
ART + ILLUSTRATION
What do you do? I’m a mural artist and painter – my work examines the relationship between humans and the plant world. As well as running a personal art practice, I’m interested in creating large-scale, site-specific pieces for, and with, different communities. Why did you choose this path? I ended up here after lots of zigzagging, but I have always loved to make art and have adored flowers and plants from a very young age. I studied interior architecture at university, so exploring the way our environments affect our bodies and minds is a strong interest of mine. Which tool
could you not do without? My paintbrushes! What keeps you going through hard
times? The thought that I’m just a tiny speck in the universe helps me not to take things too seriously. Getting out for walks in the bush helps me relax – spotting beautiful plants and flowers puts the world into perspective. Aside from that, growing, cooking and eating homegrown veggies, watching ’90s films and cuddling my cat makes me happy. Best piece of advice you’ve received? Go hard or go home. Do one thing every day that scares you. What are you working on next? A painted work, released with Art Aid, that will be turned into a print and perhaps a tapestry. I’m also planning a couple of murals, which I will get to paint once lockdown has finished! My partner and I are building a house, so I’ve been working on the interiors for this and dreaming of the mural I will paint there. What did your high-school careers
counsellor suggest you do? I can’t remember, but I think I was very strong-willed and determined to study architecture. What’s one thing we should know about you?
If we go for a walk together, allow extra time for stopping and looking at every tiny flower. What does winning a Good Stuff award mean to you? It’s the most wonderful acknowledgement of my work and a huge honour. It makes me so happy to see that following my heart resonates with the frankie magazine community. For a migrant kid who arrived in Australia from Ukraine at age seven with no knowledge of English, and who had to break down language and cultural barriers to connect with people, this is super-special. What would you have been voted ‘Most likely to’ back in high school?
Travel around the world for the rest of my life. Where can we see your work? A lot of my work is public and can be seen around Sydney and regional New South Wales. You can also find it online at nastia-gladushchenko.com.
Art + illustration judge Jeremy Wortsman says: After all the stop-and-start lockdowns, artwork that transforms our physical environment can offer a unique opportunity to refresh our moods and perspective. Nastia’s work creates a real impact and reconnects you to nature through a finely crafted mix of both scale and subject matter, all rendered in a restrained colour palette. This is a generous gift to the local community, and I can’t wait to visit this piece in the flesh!