Creating Otherworldly Universes With Katya Brook

Name:
DELSEY PARIS x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
New Zealand Artist of the week - Katya Brook
Photography:
Katya Brook
Styling:
Vlad Tichen
Words:
Erica Nichols

New Zealand-based artist Katya Brook has developed a style rooted in playful obscurity. Creating across photography, visual design, and creative direction, she’s worked for names including Hotel Britomart, Mina for Her, and Walker and Bing with an approach that always puts imagination first. Get a closer look at her creative process and discover how dipping a toe in surrealism allows her to color outside the lines of expectation.

VISUAL PLEASURE Magazine:
Your work exudes such emotion and mood. Were you always drawn to this style and how did you develop yours?

Katya Brook: I’ve always been drawn to creating worlds or being a part of an imaginative space where everything is possible. I guess this feeling of curiosity and genuine inquisitiveness has led me to where I am and what I do today. I also love life, and as a naive lover, I see so much beauty in it all the time, whether it’s dark and sorrowful or full of colors and joy.

What projects excite you the most? Any new themes or ideas you want to explore?

I enjoy surrealism, when everyday life meets magic and otherworldly substances as metaphors of something beyond the physical world. There is always something new popping up in my head and asking to get out.

Can you talk a little about your creative process?

I usually start by writing down everything that comes into my mind. If I have time, I would collect ideas for a few days, then put a visual board together. I let it all sink, and begin to strip down to a concept or two. I always think about technicalities, how to bring ethereal fantasies to life. Sometimes I put a team together, sometimes it’s just me and my partner, Vlad. Either way, the process of developing an idea into something real is one of my favorite parts. It’s like doing magic, manifesting your thoughts into elements of life.

“I’ve always been drawn to creating worlds or being a part of an imaginative space where everything is possible.”

What stories do you find resonate with people?

It has to be something that resonates with you in the first place. If there is genuine connection between creator and subject, then the result will always find its audience.

When you need some inspiration, where do you go to find it? Any local places?

It is all about re-charging. I usually need some quality time on my own, when I can do Dada collaging or watercolor without thinking. Going for a walk among the sea fulfills me, as well as reading poetry first thing in the morning.

How does travel influence your work and world view as an artist? Any specific travel stories that have stayed with you or informed your work?

Seeing new places and being exposed to other cultures widen your horizons. It keeps you humble and fascinated about the world. Travelling made me a better observer, which is important for a visual artist and any kind of storyteller. I love listening to people’s stories, and finding differences and similarities with my own background. It only shows that in spite of how far away we might be from each other, we are only humans, alike.

Do you think art and exploration go hand-in-hand? If so, why?

Creative process starts from exploration. Artists are children who are always hungry for new ways of self-expression.

Talk to us about what you’re creating for DELSEY. What’s the concept and vision?

When I was reached out to do this, my brain exploded with ideas. My partner, Vlad, has been a big part of production and helped me to narrow those concepts down. Looking at Delsey Rempart’s design we instantly thought about space travel. Anawhata, with its prehistoric beauty, was perfect for this. It has been a place of power for me, where I always feel like I am on another planet. Here, an amalgam of the Prometheus and Annihilation creatures, our weary space traveler was coming back home. The AI image with Orange Rempart was created as a separate story. An astronaut carrying flowers and jumping joyfully on a desert road on Mars. I loved the idea of Orange Rempart being a part of something fun and humorous. Vlad even came up with a slogan: “DELSEY: Whether you are headed to Utah or Mars.”

What’s in your DELSEY: three of Katya’s travel essentials

I always bring a book, even if I rarely find time to read while traveling. I prefer the feeling of a paper book in my hands if I have a chance to read.
Grandma’s old mala beads. When I last visited her back in Siberia, I bought her new beads in exchange of her old ones, so I can keep them for myself. I am not religious, but knowing how many hours my granny spent praying and rolling those beads in her warm and rough hands makes me feel safe.
If it’s safe to take my camera, then I usually only carry one 35mm lens with it. My favorite lens of all time.