Past Residents Nastia Sleptsova
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artist Nastia Sleptsova
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Nastia Sleptsova, "Transition" 2023 (installation view)
Nastia Sleptsova is a Ukrainian artist currently based in England. She employs a minimalistic visual language in both digital illustration and acrylic painting, a medium she is currently exploring further.
Her practice explores nostalgia, focusing on its emotional layers and the ways memories, dreams, and fleeting moments shape identity and perception. Fascinated by why certain memories endure, Nastia investigates how sensory triggers — like images, sounds, or scents — can awaken hidden emotions or recurring daydreams. Through careful reflection, she transforms these experiences into visual form, creating works that ponder the nature of memory and its essential role in shaping personal reality.
During the residency, my primary aim is to create a cohesive series of visual works exploring my own nostalgia, with the format yet to be defined. I am particularly curious how non-digital mediums might enrich and expand my creative process, embracing this transition fully in my practice.
Alongside making, I intend to explore the emotional and psychological layers of nostalgia and how these insights can truly deepen the impact of my work. I hope to fully immerse myself in this new environment, adopting new daily rhythms, exploring surrounding landscapes and drawing inspiration from Finland’s nature and distinctive design traditions.
Nastia Sleptsova’s residency at Art Centre Salmela is a collaboration with The Finnish Illustration Association- Kuvittajat and realised in the context of the Ukraine Solidarity Residencies programme.
The current partners of the programme are AARK, Art Centre Salmela, Fairres, Goethe-Institut Finnland, HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, Nelimarkka Museum, Pro Artibus, The Finnish Artists’ Studio Foundation, The Finnish Darkroom Association, The Finnish Illustration Association – Kuvittajat, and Värtsilä Artist Residency. The continuation of the programme is possible due to the support of the Finnish Ministry of Arts and Culture and Nordic Culture Point.