Drawing on horror classics, Zhenia Stepanenko treats these films as instruments for self-exploration and tools for understanding the structure of society. Her porcelain sculptures, inspired by specific characters or scenes from certain movies transform unsettling imagery into allegorical, decorative forms.

The artist views cinema as a mirror of society. Referencing slashers, body horror, and narratives shaped by trauma, such as the psychological aftermath of war. In her practice, horror becomes a safe and controlled space for encountering fear, desire, and internal chaos. Beneath its sensational surfaces, the genre holds a deep psychoanalytic potential: it enables confrontation with repressed aspects of the psyche, culturally taboo expressions of violence and vulnerability.

Through the fragile medium of porcelain, which the artist associates with domesticity and decorative kitsch, Stepanenko elevates what is typically considered a “low” genre. The work draws inspiration from childhood memories of Soviet interiors, where porcelain figurines lined the vitrines of fake-wood wall units. The artist’s sculptures, displayed in a similar manner, evoke nostalgia while creating a tension between form and content, representation and fear, inviting us to tame our own fears and horrors.

Accompanying event: HEDGEHOG CAKES — screening and workshop
31.05 (Saturday), 12:00

“Hedgehog Cakes: The Sweet Weapon of Terror” (2024) takes the form of a mockumentary — a film in which factual analysis blends with fictional narrative. Artist Zhenia Stepanenko (Kreepy Bakery), in collaboration with Mykhailo Bondariev and Vitaliy Nemchenko (20ft Radio), explores the themes of historical and media-driven trauma. The film subversively adopts the aesthetics of early 2000s true-crime television shows, which delved into unsolved mysteries and past atrocities. One of its central motifs is food — portrayed both as a symbol of survival and a tool of control. The narrative centres on the figure of Nikolai Yezhov, a Soviet official who led brutal purges against so-called “enemies of the people” in the 1930s.

Join us for a meeting with the artist Zhenia Stepanenko, who will introduce her film and invite participants to come together to create the hedgehog cake.

Reservation required.
Registration: [email protected]

The project is part of the BWA Europa Festival, organised and co-funded by the National Centre for Culture and the University of the National Education Commission in Kraków, as part of the celebrations of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.