![]() ![]() ![]() She graduated in December with a painting degree. Gachot’s senior thesis delved into stories her mother told her about the family, and she produced the first illustrations for what will be a book. “So, I kind of made this huge loop and I ended up where I planned to start,” she said. Gachot’s collaged illustrations as well as paintings and other art she has created over the past few years, will be part of “Perceptions,” an exhibition at The Art Studio, Inc., running from Feb. “I chose the word ‘Perceptions’ because it's basically about seeing things differently and, obviously, coming from a different cultural background, maybe I perceive things differently, because it's always based on your previous experience,” she said. “And I guess perceptions really are changing your personality. I think the art kind of reflects maybe different points of view in this case.” I mean, when you move from one country to another, changing cultures, perceptions are what helps you to build your new identity - the way people perceive you and how you perceive things. Immigrants go through stages of assimilation, Gachot said, where one’s perceptions and attitudes change. “When you come here first, it's like you're an infant, sort of curious about everything,” she said. “It's sort of exotic, like a big vacation. And then you feel yourself like you're a foreigner and (it) gives you an incentive to maybe act in a way silly, not think about what you do, because everyone knows I'm a foreigner, so they give you some slack. You change your old biases to the new biases.” And then at the end, you kind of mature and assimilate, and you feel yourself more of a part of this community. Petersburg, then-Leningrad, said she finds the genre of the picture book to be fascinating, especially today. “The 21st century really has no boundaries, you can do whatever you want,” she said. There are picture books on death, depression or domestic violence, anything really. And it's kind of this political synergy of word and picture that I really like.” ![]()
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