Maria Teplykh

Despite being an artist all my life, I started practising sculpture seriously around 10 years ago while being seriously depressed. It helped me to recover, and became my means of telling about the issues depressed people deal with.
Time has passed but depression is still an ostracized issue. There is not so much known about the illness by healthy people. It creates quite harsh and unrealistic expectations for the depressed. Therefore in my practice I try to bridge this gap and in a creative way give an idea of what this illness is about. At the same time I create works, which tell those affected by the illness, that it doesn’t diminish one’s value and can be defeated with persistence.
I prefer to use clays and metal wires in my practice. I am also known for painting or adoring clay sculptures with handmade colourful details after they’ve been through the firing.