Ioana Rusu

Ioana Rusu is a visual artist from Iași, Romania. Her artistic practice gravitates between two extremes: reality and fiction, contextualizing some elements or events corresponding to everyday life on a constructed territory. She focuses on how the human mind perceives the outside and distort reality, influenced by their own experiences. Her research subjects search around the relationship between memory, behavior and imagination. She approaches post-photography, and the obsession with digital collage that she develops through constant practice, extends over time to the video or installation medium.

When did you discover your passion for art and what does art mean to you?

I became aware of my passion for art rather late, because of the context that left no room for expansion beyond the classical occupations.
Today, I see it as a means of expressing human perceptions. Personally, it makes me connect with and discover myself. I question subjects centered on the individual and it’s inevitable that I don’t know where I stand in relation to them.
Briefly describe yourself: what excites you, what makes you angry?
I am someone who needs to constantly have a project going, however small, to keep me active and motivated. I particularly like new beginnings because I am constantly reinventing myself and tend to get bored quickly. This is also the reason why I feel the need to get out, to be on the road. I am in a constant search for experiences that inspire me. Apart from the universally important things, I emphasize morals and passion.
I am angry at the negative influence of traditionalism – all the social expectations that come with it.

Describe your artistic vision.

I want to convey my subjective perceptions of the world and I am always looking for a wider context in which to place them. My own experiences or those of acquaintances become inspiration for my work. Not the story itself, but rather a new awareness of the relationship between memory, behavior and imagination that I sometimes investigate without intending to. I find it more interesting what lies in the mental universe and in a distorted reality modeled after my own experiences.
All my research is materialized in photographs, digital collages, video or anything that involves fragmentation and recontextualization. My projects have become experimental and, for me, the whole process of cutting and moving images from their place of origin is very poetic. I like to relate it to the way the human mind works in some situations.

Who has influenced you along the way and how?

There are so many people who have positively influenced me along the way, from my family to the colleagues I met in projects and with whom I had a seamless connection.

Which of your artworks you like the most and why?

Shortly after I am done I am no longer satisfied, I put more value on the process.
However, I can say there is a project that I keep interfering with as my thinking transforms.
“The way I see you” – started from a staged photograph I took of my grandmother. I portrayed her monumentally in my sister’s wedding dress. But I didn’t stop at this idyllic depiction of a child who can’t see beyond the protective wall that is rosed around her. I kept using archive images and images from my personal life. I aim to represent, in a broader context, the life our grandmothers had and how the consequences of their experiences affect us generations later.
This project is in an ongoing questioning, which will not end any time soon, and I am very small and excited about it.

Tell us about a moment in your career so far that made you happy?

I generally enjoy exhibitions, billboards, I don’t have any specific moment.

What do you expect from Accelerator program?

Last year, I participated in Accelerator Brașov and the interactions I had then helped me to grow a lot, it is like doing a master’s degree in a week. This time, I expect, again, to be an opportunity to gain valuable experiences in the field and be mentored by professionals.

What artist inspired you and why?

I recently finished my thesis and one of the artists who inspired me was Agnes Varda, with her subjective perspective on femininity. In her work, she shows a curiosity about life and the relationship between art itself and the inner and outer space. I can say that I resonate with her practice, and the films seduce me every time.

What are your future plans?

I am planning to take on internships during my post masters period, I need to see and get to know more than I have so far.