Clay, upcycled VHS tape, metal wire, acrylic paint

15x20x10cm

I enjoy taking materials or items that are unusual and upcycling them into a piece. In this instance, I was in the process of digitalising my home VHS tapes and I felt guilty throwing away the tape casings. At the same time, I was deep in researching about Ukrainian mythology and folk stories, to which I came across the ‘Mavka.’ They are mythological spirits who represent the souls of girls who had died unnatural, tragic, or premature deaths, often appearing in the form of beautiful young girls who entice and lure young men into the woods, where they "tickle" them to death.

I saw a strong correlation between the VHS tape and the principle of mythology. Tapes are there to capture stories and it is a medium of a by gone era, whilst mythology is also from the past but it has been passed on through orators. It’s important to keep these stories as they represent cultures and people of the past hence, I wanted to combine these ideas and create the piece you see here.