In “Always and Forever” we see the journey of a young kitten, Lanina’s alter ego, who must decide if it’s safe to follow the high-heeled spider into another dimension – will it hurt or heal? The piece is set on a stage — under the skirt of the Wise Tigress. She invites us inside of her body to witness the story of her past that haunts her present. The story of trickery, betrayal and oblivion. The piece addresses how our bodies carry stories of our past, how our past is always present in our bodies if we choose to open the curtains.
Yuliya Lanina is an interdisciplinary artist whose work exists at the intersection of visual art, performance and technological innovation. She creates alternate realities in her works—ones based on sexuality, trauma, loss, fetishism, and identity. Lanina’s honors include Fulbright (Vienna, Austria), Headlands Art Center (CA), and Yaddo Colony (NY). Exhibitions include SXSW (TX), Seoul Art Museum (Korea), SIGGRAPH (Japan), 798 Beijing Biennial (China), Cleveland Institute of Art (OH), Museum Ludwig (Germany) and Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Russia). Her recent solo show at Xposed gallery on New York’s HighLine was viewed by more than 1,000 people per day over three weeks. Lanina lives in Austin, TX with her husband and twin daughters. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Practice at the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies at The University of Texas at Austin.
