Many people worry about ecological challenges we face nowadays such as global warming, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, glacier melting and many others. How does climate change reflect on contemporary art? Natalia Kapchuk is an artist, art ambassador for The Parliamentary Society of Arts, Fashion and Sports (UK), ambassador for Monaco Better World Forum (MBWF) and philanthropist, supports charity organizations dedicated to protecting the nature and oceans, and creates environmental-centric artworks about our world and ecological problems. To learn more about the eco art movement and Natalia’s art project ‘The Lost Planet’ read further in our interview.

Where are you based?
I am based in London – the city of dreams, one of two capitals of contemporary art, as is well-known the second is NYC. I enrolled in Central Saint Martins and Chelsea College of Arts and, after graduating from it, I opened my studio in London where I create my art objects.

How did you get interested in arts?
I was attracted to the art world in early childhood. It started when my mom taught me how to sculpt, I was five. She’s an artist and a sculptor. A few years later, I started studying art at a children's art school, where I learned painting and history of art. In high school, I decided that after finishing general education, I’d choose a creative profession and study arts in the future – become an artist, but my parents had a different idea. Having received a degree in International Relations, I moved to Dubai (UAE) where I started doing contemporary art and represented the local ART Loft Gallery on the Middle East art market. This experience pushed me to develop further my professional career and I enrolled in the Chelsea College of Arts in London.

Can you tell us about your work as an art ambassador of the Parliamentary Society of Arts Fashion and Sports (UK)?
This title is a responsibility for my actions and an important mission. I have to be worthy of it and work hard. My task is to support young artists and to raise the problems they are facing in their careers. Our meetings take place in a Palace of Westminster, where we get together with other ambassadors discussing problems in creative industries and discuss how we can make changes and support rising artists, fashion designers, and sportsmen.

A lot of your works explore themes of ecology, plastic pollution, and environmental conservation. Why is this so important to you?
I am really concerned about the future of our planet and its ecological situation. Unfortunately, most of us take our planet and nature for granted, abusing natural resources and wild life. My heart is bleeding when I see plastic in the ocean and at the beaches, even when I see it in the supermarkets, realizing that it’s everywhere and in humongous quantities. I came to an idea that I should spread the word about those problems and do it through my art.

Can you tell us a little bit about your beautiful project “The Lost Planet”? What do you hope others get from this collection?
The series of works “The Lost Planet” is centered exclusively on the theme of ecology, pollution and protection of the environment. It’s divided in two parts: the first shows the beauty of our planet and the second is about the negative impacts of human activities and global warming. I try to attract the public’s attention to the problems of the environment and the bad ecological situation in the whole world. The exhibition will consist of twenty-four art works. All of them are in a circular shape, but each is unique in terms of its content and materials.

You like to work with a lot of different and unique materials. What attracts you to certain materials? What do they symbolize to you?
I use natural materials such as wood, bark, crystals, dry flowers, stones and industrial materials: resin, resi-crete, pigments, polymers, plastic, glass and metal leaf. Thus, I want to emphasize that everything in the world is interconnected - elements of nature and manmade-materials. For example, my work “Russian Wildfires” is made of Siberian bark, which symbolizes Russian rich forests, and natural crystals on metal leaf. This work reflects the problem of wildfires and illegal logging. “The Last Breath” is made of fermented moss and dried flowers in the shape of Amazon rainforests on the continent of South America. The moss here is a natural material which stands for the Amazonian region which was recently on fire too, but at the same time I use acrylic in my work.

Your pieces about the pollution in the oceans in your “The Lost Planet” collection are particularly powerful. Can you tell us a little bit about those pieces and your direction with them?
Those artworks are made of resin and single use plastic. I have collected a variety of plastics such as: bags, tooth brushes, packaging from food, bottle caps, etc. I sealed all this trash inside a resin surface which symbolizes our ocean. In the art objects “Plastic network”, “The world is on fire”, ‘The Lego World”, “American Dream” and “Environmental crisis” the continents are made of plastic too, Lego, 3D PLA filament – it all shows the impact of plastic pollution. Through my art objects, I want to show the viewer that plastic is everywhere, and soon our planet will look like a big plastic garbage dump if we continue the way we do it now.

Other than your art, what ways are you active in protecting the environment, world ocean and nature?
I start with myself and my household. I stopped using single-use plastic bottles completely - I replenish glass bottles with water only. I don’t use plastic bags - in the supermarket I replaced them with reusable fabric bags. I swapped plastic straws to metal. I carry unnecessary equipment and batteries to special places for subsequent disposal. I gave up the irrational use of water and heat. I encourage my family and friends to choose recyclable materials to use. I organized a special activity to collect garbage in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea in the company of like-minded people last summer. Moreover, I support various environmental organizations like The Ocean Cleanup, the company 4ocean, whose main purpose is to clear the ocean of plastic, Better World Forum, where I am a good will ambassador.

What would you like to see others do to help protect our planet?
I would like to see governments start taking the problem of climate change seriously and cut down carbon emissions, building more plastic recycling plants, encouraging large corporations to source for a new type of renewable energy. I wish big corporations to take initiative and become the pioneers in the climate change movement, using environmentally friendly substances, looking for new greener solutions and making productions environmentally friendly, stop producing plastic and finally start recycling, come up with a new idea to make our planet greener and cleaner.

In addition to your “The Lost Planet” series, you also have a very honest project called “Political Leaders”, which I have to say is pretty bad a**. Can you tell us a little bit about this project?
I was always interested in politics, as I studied international relationships as my University degree. I depict political leaders in the way I see them, with a touch of humor in it. Here I used spray paint and collage art. For example, Putin on a Russian flag background with a message “Obey”, or the Statue of Liberty upside down with a broken torch on top of Trump’s magazine covers.

A lot of what you cover in your “Political Leaders” collection revolves around the Russian and United States relationships and behavior. Can you tell us a little bit about your thoughts on this?
I don’t want to talk much about politics, and my view on it is very clear once you look at my artworks. I believe Putin is a strong leader and very respected all around the world. He is my hero as a good strategist and diplomat. Trump is Trump. He is definitely a character, and it’s always kind of fun to make art on him. Yes, some of my artworks are about the relationship of Russia and the US. The artwork “Russia vs America” is dedicated to the sanctions that the US placed on Russia, and the reaction of the Russian government that only made its economy stronger.

As a Russian born, and now a resident of London, do you find yourself following the US election?
I don't focus on elections. Whichever of the candidates wins, for me the main thing is how he’ll approach solving environmental problems in the future, what actions will be carried out to solve global ecological issues, and what interactions in this area will emerge at the international level.

You have a few shows coming up. Can you tell us a little bit about them?
I am working now on a solo show in London which will run in April – May this year. It will be “The Lost Planet” collection: about 22 works, two wall sculptures and a video installation. I am very excited to finally show my art to the world. It’s also a charity project. I am collaborating with an ocean clean up organization, and the sales from my art will support a cleanup that we will organize in Asia with local eco activists.

When and where can we see your work in NYC?
I plan to hold the show closer to the dates of important art events. For example, during the next Art Basel at Miami Beach.

Do you have any words of advice for any emerging artists?
Follow your passion, don't be afraid of your ideas, express what is really important to you, just do what your heart tells you. Don't be afraid to talk about environmental problems through the prism of your projects. Saving our planet is our responsibility because we do not have another one.

What is your motto in life?
Be happy every single day, smile and love the world and everything that’s around you.

Please list any websites and/or social media that you would like Jejune to promote:
Website: https://kapchukart.com
Youtube: Kapchuk Art
Instagram: kapchukart and kapchuk

Photos and material provided by FprBuro, Natalia Kapchuk’s press office.

Eco Art of Natalia Kapchuk