WHEEL ME OUT - Natasha Sud

Russian-born artist Natasha Sud moved with her family from Odessa (former USSR) to the USA in 1978, opting for a ‘better life’ in Hikes Point, Louisville, Kentucky. Better known for her emotive collage work often exhibited under the moniker Lady of Assemblage, Sud originally studied photography at the University of Louisville. In a temporary detour from the world of découpage and photomontage, the Russian Cowgirl takes time out to discuss her art practices and a selection of photographic portraits of folk from The ’ville.

By Melissa Osborne

How did you end up in Louisville? I was three when we moved from Odessa. I came over with my mother, father, sister and two quarrelling grandmothers. I think the only reason we came to Louisville was because my dad knew someone here. I moved to California for seven years when I was 24, but a relationship drew me back and I’m really glad it did. Louisville will always be home for me, no matter where I go in life. It’s a city like no other and my friends and I have an extremely strong bond. We have a wonderful music and art scene here – everyone is incredibly supportive of one another.

Life is very different here for me since my father was diagnosed with cancer last year and passed away, but I'm incredibly thankful for the time I had with him before he died. It's been really hard for us, but my mother is such strong woman who puts everyone else first. My father’s death took a huge irreplaceable chunk out of our lives and nothing will ever be the same. But whatever creativity, wit, humor and talent that I have I got from him and that's what helps me to carry on.

Do you feel like a Southerner? I do feel like a Southerner but like a weird version because I’m Russian and that’s a huge part of who I am too. I jokingly refer to myself as the Russian Cowgirl. I definitely love the South: the music, the land, the bourbon… Kentucky is a truly beautiful state.

You’re better known in KY as a collage artist than a photographer. How did you get into collage? I always had a lot of pictures lying around when I was studying photography at college. At some stage I just started nailing/gluing stuff to found wood or paper. My work is mostly very personal and invariably about love – I’m in love with the idea of being in love. My collages are an expression of my thoughts and feelings at a given time, but people really seem to relate to them – so they have a life of their own after the moment. I really love that.

Was photography your first love? Yeah. My father always took so many pictures of us when we were little and eventually gave me his Nikon. I was so excited. It’s still my favourite camera to shoot with, when you catch a moment on film it can be so beautiful—no Photoshop or digital bullshit—just me and my Nikon. There’s something pretty magical about it. My photography teacher always told me, “It’s not the camera you use, it’s the eye.” For me, it’s also about the process: from taking a photo and not knowing what it might look like, to getting in the darkroom to develop the photograph yourself and then watching the images emerge. I recently visited the studio of a really inspirational photographer, Tim Nazarro, in North Adams, Massachusetts. He mostly uses black and white film and has a fantastic darkroom – his photographs are incredible. Seeing his work reminded me of why I got into photography in the first place, which is easily forgotten in this new age of digital snaps.

Tell us a bit out your selection of KY photographs here. I love photographing people. And I love capturing them in their natural environment – maybe doing something they love or maybe just at home surrounded by the things they love most. You can learn a lot about people photographing them like this. For instance, I had no idea that Will [Oldham] collected quarters ’til I went over to his house to photograph him. There was something kind of child-like about him in that instance, something I’d never noticed in him before. WMO

Click here to see a gallery of Natasha's work