Masha Ko
& Kolten Horner
KoHoMa is a series of social art experiments made by performance artists: Masha Ko and Kolten Horner.
Together, KoHoMa is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '23
KoHoMa is a series of social art experiments made by performance artists: Masha Ko and Kolten Horner. Through performance, installation and technology, the duo explores how various social dynamics affect one's relationship to the self. Daring and challenging, KoHoMa's work often shifts the power from an artist to the audience by turning the spectator into the creator of the work.
ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.
How would you describe your artistic style and what inspires your work?
Our artistic style comes from a shared fascination with shedding light onto uncomfortable topics as a way to ascend trauma. Our source of inspiration is the audience who interact with us during our live performances. Ultimately, it is the audience who guides the narrative of live performances through the choices they make in a challenging psycho-social environment we create. We are constantly surprised by the questions and answers our audience assigns to every piece.
Kisito Assangni
Curator
“Masha Ko & Kolten Horner’s work is grounded in a commitment to authenticity and challenge. Through a combination of performance and photography, they examine the social dynamics that shape our lives and the ways in which we navigate difficult circumstances.
Whether exploring the broader human sexuality, their work is characterised by a deep sensitivity to the complexities of the world around us.”
How has your work evolved over time?
Our work has evolved from focusing primarily on the body, to focusing on the relationship between the body and different materials. From clay, to wax to metal, we choose the material based on the commentary of the piece, even if it is something we haven't worked with before. The possibilities and constraints of each material serves as a basis of a story and we do not want to be limited to telling only one story by only working with one material. This constant challenge of being a novice by working with new materials has allowed for our pieces to not only differ from one another, but to also lead us to unexpected directions.
What message or emotion do you hope to convey through your art?
We hope to convey that there is poetry and strength in confronting the uncomfortable. We invite the audience to explore areas of themselves they normally wouldn't through their interaction with us. The base of our performances holds a desire to challenge people. As our art is often endurance-based, the physical difficulty of the pieces encourages the viewer to feel discomfort and avoidance.
Can you talk about a specific piece or series that holds a special significance to you?
The mud box is very special to us because it has allowed us to experience a vast array of responses from our audience: crying, laughter, love, violence, dismay, approval, rejection, shock, disgust and envy. It set the tone for our partnership and instantly showed us that we had the capacity to stay in the performance while experiencing the most unexpected responses.
What does this work aim to touch on?
This work aims to touch on elements of relating to oneself and how our acceptance or denial causes us to project these qualities onto others. While there is an implied question about technology and it's impact, the primary emphasis is on how people interact socially. As this piece emphasizes the individual within a public display, it is the objectification of the body by the interacting audience member that pushes the viewers to ask questions around this social theme and examine their own behavior.
What is your process for creating a new piece of art?
Our process stems from a singular concept. Sometimes it is a physical shape, emotional feeling, or finite experience. Once we feel inspired by this singular idea, we ask more questions and discuss our personal relationships to this concept and what meaning it holds intrinsically. After we share our personal relationships, we start to examine a societal perspective and identify themes we see and would like to question.
How do you both stay motivated?
We don't have difficulty being inspired, as in the words of Olivier De Sagazan, we are "flabbergasted at how normal people think life is". So, there are endless questions to ask and phenomena to examine.
How do you balance your artistic career with the business aspect of being an artist?
Performance art itself is notoriously underpaid. We balance this by ensuring that we create artistic pieces in the process of a performance. We later sell these pieces as a shared moment with the audience frozen in time.
How do you see your work fitting within the larger context of contemporary art?
We aspire for our work to fit within contemporary art as a bridge between disciplines while also creating audience accessibility and recognition. As interdisciplinary artists, we hope to bring performance art to virtual reality.
What advice do you have for aspiring artists who are just starting out in their careers?
If you won't sacrifice your body for your craft, don't pursue it.
See more of KoHoMa’s work
