Interview with Elena Gregusova

All photographs copyrighted by Martin Gregus. Photographs may not be printed, copied or re-sent without written permission of Martin Gregus (martingregus@shaw.ca)

How did you become inspired to create the Wear the News^TM project, which won awards in competitions held in Canada and Slovakia?  

In recent years, people have shown an increasing interest in the environment. I decided to create a collection about the environment to reflect the world's interest and my own. In Slovakia, I was interested too, but I used different leftover materials for my work. The Wear The News^TM project, which I am now presenting, is in some way a continuance and expansion of my previous work with an emphasis on multicultural communication and ecology. As an artist and historian, I see a piece of human history in materials. When I start working with newspaper material and gradually change it to the desired shape and form, I gain new inspirations which then become a new experience for me and an opportunity to create something new.

At the same time, I wanted to show and prove that newspapers, after reading, and with the help of my creative soul, can become a carrier of an idea and an object of interest to the public, like a statue. I want to make people aware of the importance of nature and protecting the environment for future generations. Wear The News^TM is my way of connecting an artistic object with environmental problems and global communication in today's world.

For these reasons, I collect newspapers from around the world to have full artistic impact and communication with the audience, including languages and typefaces of many different nations. That is why I chose newspaper as my basic material. My growing collection consists of 25 paper objects, which I photographed on live models in actual urban and natural environments. After completion, this project will represent the most interesting cultures and countries from the multicultural world around us. (photo: "Queen of Kilimanjaro", model-Rukiya, Wear the News^TM Collection)

You also created the Global Wearing^TM collection, which is made out of recycled material and looks medieval. Is you work meant to be worn or admired as works of art?

The Global Wearing^TM project is another artistic environmental project inspired by the four seasons and weather changes. It represents weather during this cold time of year - snow, freezing temperatures, ice, wind, rain and fog. The idea is to show the relationship between nature and the weather and the way they go hand in hand. That is why each of the nymphs or fairies are made out of various pieces which can be put together in different ways to create simple peaceful outfits or restlessness, turbulence or drama, to capture the moods of the season. Because this collection is environmentally friendly, 80% is hand stitched and made with 100% recycled old sweaters, jeans, umbrellas and other materials, which are frequently used during winter.

My creations are specific because of the fact that I concentrate on the study of the material, which is my main source of inspiration, and then I change it according to the given circumstances for whom or what I want to express. For these reasons, this project, Global Wearing^TM, is full of imagination and history. (photo: Snow Fairy, model-Barbara Gregusova, Global Wearing^TM Collection)

These collections: Wear the News^TM, Global Wearing^TM, Navyator^TM are only a small part of my creativity and work. I always want to create something new from my feelings, opinions and experiences. I look forward to bringing my ideas into life in specific materials and special shapes to create a new imaginative world and relationship to the viewer. Fashion has become to me more than just fashion. For me, fashion is about art, creativity, feelings and personality. It is about materials like paper, plastic, fabric or just leftovers or old sweaters, which begin to live and grow in my hands with the help of my soul and my imagination. Every piece of my work is always a small piece of me.

Were there traditions in Slovakia that influenced the kind of work that you now produce?

I think that Slovakian folk traditions and Middle European cultures influenced my creative work and are still very close to me. Slovakia is a small, unique country in the middle of Europe. It has a rich history and culture. When I was living in Slovakia, I made made many collections for children, teenagers and women, where I incorporated many classical and ancient apparel elements into my contemporary collections. Global Wearing^TM and Wear the News^TM, are full of inspiration in their structure, shape and materials. Not just Slovakia, but culture, is my inspiration. I admire world history, art, and architecture. For these reasons, every culture is inspiration for me, through its shapes, colors, textures or even its simplicity.

The photography on your site is fantastic! Can you tell us about how you and your husband, Martin Gregus, who photographs your creations, develop the ideas for showing your work?

Martin and I met at the Fine Arts College in 1982, when we were working together as an artistic team. We are still an artistic team, which now includes our children Barbara (age 23) and Martin Jr. (age 13). We worked with fashion magazines and we have had our own fashion magazine Babaco^TM. I create the fashions, Martin takes the pictures and our kids and their friends are our models. (photo: Nefertiti, model-Milica Homolova, Conquerors Collection)

Project Wear The News^TM has two different levels. The first is to create the extraordinary paper sculpture. The second is the haute art photography of my sculpture objects. The visual transformation of the static paper sculptures into the real life statues takes place through the use of multicultural live models, which represent every different nation or culture in their own ethnicity. The shapes of every object are supported with stunning color background, which adds a deep visual impression and a strong emotional impact.

Please tell us about your current and/or next projects?

Now, I am preparing together with my husband, Martin Gregus, the presentation of the still growing Wear the News^TM collection. We are preparing an application for the World Expo Shanghai 2010 Artistic Exposition. We are also preparing a proposal for the 2008 newly opened News Museum in Washington, DC, where I would like to showcase my sculptures, because of the very strong connection of my art objects and newspaper. Of course, I am trying to get more exhibition possibilities in Canada, Europe and around the world. Next year, I would like to show the public my Navyator^TM collection, including my first Internet gallery and store. Navyator^TM, my favorite project, which I made in Slovakia for galleries and magazines, is my high end fashion collection. See more at Elena Gregusova.

All photographs copyrighted by Martin Gregus. Photographs may not be printed, copied or re-sent without written permission of Martin Gregus (martingregus@shaw.ca)

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