How did the idea of turning Cheburashka into a cosmic creature come about?
Honestly, I didn't transform Cheburashka — I resonated with big ears. It just so happened that I was born in a country where Eduard Uspensky invented Cheburashka back in the sixties, but there are plenty of big-eared creatures in world culture: Dumbo, Mickey Mouse. I have a colleague in England who also makes women with huge ears — like in a kokoshnik or a helmet, with giant ears. For us Russians, that instantly reads as Cheburashka.
But actually the cosmic vision came first, and the ears appeared afterward. Everything is born in the unconscious: you start seeing something, you start drawing, and then it snowballs. This happened around 2011–2012, and by 2012 I had already installed a sculpture. There's a competition called the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize, at the National Sculpture Park in the south of England. I took part and made it into the top ten sculptors of the year in England for 2012. The sculpture was called 'Spirit of the Forest' — a big-eared creature's head mounted on antlers. I didn't call it Cheburashka, because nobody in the world knows what that is, while in Russia everyone instantly understands what you mean.
It was a symbol of transition — like Japanese torii gates, through which a person passes from the everyday into the sacred, their state changes, they enter the temple grounds. In Japan such gates are found everywhere, in different colors. I made a gate like that: a big-eared head on top, with inverted giant deer antlers serving as the posts. That was my first 'Chebu-Rasha on Antlers.'
What did Cheburashka mean to you as a child, and what does it mean now?
As I already said, all of this came from my own cosmic vision. I can't say that Cheburashka meant or means anything to me personally. I consider him one of the symbols of Russia — that's just how it happened, a coincidence, and that's about it. Cheburashka as such was never a prototype for me.
Why did space become the context for Chebu-Rasha?
Because I have my own vision, which I formalize through art. It's not connected to the fact that Yuri Gagarin and Cheburashka happened at the same time — although maybe that's actually the case. But if we're going to pull this story by the ears: nobody really knows where Cheburashka "tumbled" from, where this tailless creature was born. It's a purely creative work, an invented character — just like in my case.
In my life, besides everyday matters, there are two directions: esotericism with cosmos, and art. At some point I noticed that these two directions merged into one, and one began feeding the other. As they say, one hand washes the other: the more esotericism, the more inspiration, and vice versa. These things, so to speak, got married — a fusion happened, and an amplification.
How do viewers in different countries react to Chebu-Rasha?
Everyone loves big-eared creatures. Big ears are a universal symbol of naivety, awkwardness, childlikeness, purity. My case is no exception: Chebu-Rasha is a self-portrait and a portrait of the country where I was born, and naivety is probably its main trait. People respond well to big ears in every country. The only difference is that in Russia people call my character Cheburashka, because Uspensky came before me. But in other countries, where they don't know the original Cheburashka, nobody calls her that — there she's simply a big-eared creature invented by Svetlana K-Liée.
What materials and techniques do you use in the "Chebu-Rasha" series?
As usual, I use the full palette of techniques: porcelain, bronze, paper, and now I'm thinking about plastic too. I have a lot of bronze Chebu-Rashas — I love her in sculpture, in porcelain, and in casting alike. I make 'Chebu-Rasha' vases, I draw her a lot on porcelain, on paper, on wood — I play with the whole palette. I recently created a new series, 'Chebu-Rasha in Russia' — many works on paper.
Is there a personal cosmology in the world of Chebu-Rasha?
I think there is. But it's still hard for me to explain it in words.
How has the series developed from the first work to the latest?
There isn't a latest work yet, because life never ends — in my philosophy, life is infinite. The first work, as I already said, got going almost effortlessly: I drew this Chebu-Rasha on antlers, and she immediately made it into the top ten sculptures of 2012 according to the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize. She was installed in the park right away, and she stood there — until, just like in the story of the Emerald City, a typhoon carried her off. It was absolutely dreadful: I was preparing for an exhibition at Lee Miller's house, which was a huge event for me, and literally right before the sculpture was to be transported out of the park, a typhoon swept it away. I went through a real psychological breakdown — it was awful. Since then, since 2012, the series has kept developing and developing.
Are you planning to continue the "Chebu-Rasha" series?
I'm planning to popularize it. Right now I'm working on a series of seven porcelain vases in China. I started doing this at the LFZ factory in St. Petersburg: I made the first vase — 'Chebu-Rasha, Russian Birches, Golden Autumn' — they cast a run of twenty, and everything went well. But the next vase never got cast, and after two years of waiting, I made a new one, the same design, this time in China, and now I'll be casting it here. This is the second vase in the series of seven; the first was made two years ago at LFZ.
What does Chebu-Rasha say about the modern world? A philosophical look at the series
Apparently, it's as it always is: things aren't quite what they seem. What we see is only part of this world, and the world is much bigger — it unfolds 360 degrees, in every direction. That's why Chebu-Rasha appears in so many different forms — she reflects the cosmology of our life. I'd even call this series 'The Manifestation of Chebu-Rasha' — she's that varied. In Uspensky's version, Cheburashka is maybe a boy, or maybe genderless altogether. For me there's no doubt: when creating my big-eared creature, I made a woman. My Chebu-Rasha is a girl. And through the years, through art, she manifests in different guises — ever new twists and turns in her reincarnations.