HoMA Artist Spotlight: Ava Fedorov

Honolulu-based artist Ava Fedorov is one of a group of twelve artists participating in the upcoming exhibition Downtown Drawings, opening November 12 at HoMA First Hawaiian Center (FHC). Just under one year ago, the group was asked to create new works based on their experiences or impressions of downtown Honolulu. The exhibition in the second floor galleries at FHC features works in a range of drawing media and will run through February 19, 2021. HoMA’s Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Katherine Love, spoke with Fedorov about her work for the exhibition, as well as a performance project she has organized around the autumnal equinox on September 22.

Katherine Love: Tell us a little bit about your background. What brought you to Hawai’i?

Ava Federov: I was born and raised in a remote, forested region of upstate NY, and lived in New York City for about 10 years before moving to Hawai’i. Growing up immersed in nature resonated with me very deeply, and I was drawn to Hawai’i because of the powerful role that nature and natural forces play in every aspect of life on the islands. I have lived on O‘ahu for five years and am currently teaching art at Hawaii Pacific University while also pursuing my MFA at UH Mānoa.

KL: What medium do you generally work in, and what themes or subject matter do you explore in your art?

AF: My background is in drawing, painting, and writing. Lately I have also been exploring performance and video as a way of bringing the verbal and the visual together. My work uses abstraction to express the immensity of disappearing landscapes and haunted geographies—understanding place as a body and a being that is at peril due to the climate crisis and the anthropocene.

KL: Tell us a little about the pieces you have created for the upcoming exhibition Downtown Drawings.

AF: The series I have created for Downtown Drawings is called Sidewalk Swan Songs. The artwork is inspired by the vibrant musical history of Downtown Honolulu, especially the Chinatown Historic District, which is one of the areas most threatened by rising sea levels. Each drawing in the series is inspired by a song written by a local musician. The drawings display the geographic coordinates of famed local music venues that will be underwater following a 3 foot sea level rise (projected to occur within 30–50 years). Each Sidewalk Swan Song attempts to capture the mood of the song itself, the character of Downtown/Chinatown, and the elemental sensation of water.

Swan Song

Ava Fedorov, Sidewalk Song 1, 2020

KL: Your performance project around the fall equinox is coming up in a couple of days. Please describe what this piece is about. 

AF: The performance art piece is called Equinox Crossing, and its simplicity belies the profound act that both walking and synchronized action can become. The work aims to create a feeling of connection and humanity beyond the boundaries of geography. The piece takes place on Sept. 22, the autumn equinox, and will be performed simultaneously by 20 artists located all over the world including in Hawai’i, Guam/Guahan, Thailand, Australia, India, Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Russia, France, Germany, and Ireland. All of the artists are either friends or colleagues who responded to a call for collaborators that I put on social media at the beginning of September.  

The equinox (alo piko o wākea in ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i) occurs at the same time everywhere on the planet when the earth’s equator crosses over the direct center of the sun. Day and night are equal in length, hence the term equinox from Latin meaning equal night. At the moment of the equinox, all 20 artists will walk silently with their cameras facing outwards from their front doors and through their neighborhoods. The duration of the walk will occur for one astronomical unit, approximately 8 1/2 minutes, which is the time it takes light from the sun to reach earth. The walks will be live streamed on Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook (here’s the link).

Equinox

KL: How did you come up with the idea for this project? How long have you been working on it?

AF: The concept of this piece has been simmering in my mind for a few years. The current global situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and the general disembodiment of the “virtual” world seem to yearn for the experience of simple human connection. This performance of walking through our individual landscapes reminds us that the land under our feet is a shared entity—a body that connects us. I see this project as a way to acknowledge this connection as well as an opportunity to pay better attention to the world around us. Though emphasis is placed on the physical action of walking, it is ironically the virtual space that allows the experience of synchronicity. My hope is that this virtual experience will assist in a physical understanding of place, and that it may serve as a tool to recognize the universal within the individual.

KL: Will you offer a way for the audience to participate during or after the performance? What is your intention for the piece after it is completed?

The live performance of this piece will be open to anyone to watch and will be broadcast across Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook. The performance will be recorded and the video will be posted on social media. I am also working on the possibility of featuring the video in an exhibition at a later date. I invite people to visit https://avafedorov.com/equinox-walk-2020 or Instagram @avaglows or for more information and updates.

Tune in at 3:30am Hawai’i time on September 22 for the live feed:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73557228503

Mahalo, Ava!