CV

STATEMENT

My research and creative production are directed at overlapping relationships, examining how processes mirror and change across human and ecological systems. There are patterns in the unmade world that parallel those in human society. Collaboration, symbiosis, diversity, are all characteristics of a resilient ecosystem. Through my art making, I tell stories that cross boundaries between communities, trying to identify what’s there and what may be missing in the relationship between Us and the natural world.

I create abstract environments and interactive installations with sculpture, software, video and sound, that provide opportunities for embodied experiences. Embedded in my sculptures are capacitive sensors that respond to changes in the electrical field. Software and conductive elements turn my installations into midi keyboards, as sound and video are triggered through touch, and remixed according to an individual’s movement. Art moves people and can communicate scientific data on a more visceral level, tapping into human emotions and imagination. Embodiment through interactivity is vital to my practice as a sculptor, performing artist, and educator, as the ability to have agency over our own bodies is essential for human survival and our connection to each other and the planet. 

BIO

Sasha K Petrenko (she/her) is an earthling, artist and storyteller. Her interdisciplinary practice blends, sculpture, theater, video and sound. Rooted in eco-feminism, rock n’ roll, and post-apocalypse studies, Sasha’s work functions as an invitation for audience members to collectively creative :soma-sonic" experiences. Petrenko has received residencies, and fellowships from Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle, the Headlands Center for the Arts, The De Young Museum, The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, University of California’s Sagehen Field Station, The Djerassi Foundation, CA, Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Germany, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center, NY. Recent performances include Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards, Seattle, Power of Language, Wesleyan College, CT, We Will Not Be Silent, Western Gallery, Bellingham, and Your Anomaly is my Normal at the Bellingham Alternative Library, a collaborative performance with students in Dance, Art and Music. Sasha is Associate Professor of Sculpture and Expanded Media at Western Washington University in Bellingham.