About
Artist statement
I am working with the topics of communication between man and nature, borderline, transgressive and transcendent experiences in the culture of the human and non-human, phenomena that escape the human eye. In my work, I try to highlight the need to return to a kind and simple world in which human nature is not limited to social tasks, but lies in the field of knowledge of its spiritual component, as well as knowledge of other earthly beings and phenomena, exploring ways of joint creation and coexistence.
Working in the classical techniques of watercolor and painting, I also experiment with form, textures and narratives, giving preference to non-human animals, plants, flowers and natural and supernatural phenomena, making them the main figures of my own practice and myself a voice of their presence in human cultural systems.
Biography
Born in 1991. Multidisciplinary artist and researcher based in Russia. Studied cultural sociology, anthropology, storytelling, video art, and performative arts. Worked in the field of film production, cultural management and sustainable development before fully focusing on artistic practice.
‘More than the experience of various social interactions, I was influenced by the close encounters with natural systems and its inhabitants. From childhood memories of Petri dishes in my mom's microbiology lab to forest walks, underwater diving, surfing and living near the jungle.
Education
2009 - 2015 — Sociology, Saint-Petersburg University of Culture and Arts
Short courses
2015 — Video art, Multimedia Art Museum Moscow (tutor Dimitri Venkov)
Group exhibitions and projects
2024 — 2025 The reading group 'Non-human animals and machinery', Garage.Digital, Moscow
2022 — EDEN Petersburg Laboratory, ITMO University (interdisciplinary plant research), curated by Olga Kisseleva, Saint-Petersburg
2022 — ABCD Books, Promgrafika, Moscow
2021 — HYDRA Laboratory (interdisciplinary studies of the ecological context of St. Petersburg), featuring Raphaele Acquaviva, Robertina Šebjanič, Jana Winderen, Saint-Petersburg
2018 — Second Water, White Room Foundation, Moscow
2018 — BYOB, Proun Moscow
Special projects and collaborations
2026 — Katya Lesun x Befree Secret Garden collaboration
2025 — Katya Lesun x Befree Co:create collaboration
Curatorial projects
2016 — Space Split Into Equal Parts, Each Filled With Sound Directed in a Different Way Performance, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Texts
2022 — A walk as an ideal meme, The database of decoded memes Friiends Moscow
Press
Befree has released T—shirts with scented prints - together with artist Katya Lesun. Burning Hut magazine, March 2026
Befree Co:Create Hub - Katya Lesun, March 2025
Artist statement
I am working with the topics of communication between man and nature, borderline, transgressive and transcendent experiences in the culture of the human and non-human, phenomena that escape the human eye. In my work, I try to highlight the need to return to a kind and simple world in which human nature is not limited to social tasks, but lies in the field of knowledge of its spiritual component, as well as knowledge of other earthly beings and phenomena, exploring ways of joint creation and coexistence.
Working in the classical techniques of watercolor and painting, I also experiment with form, textures and narratives, giving preference to non-human animals, plants, flowers and natural and supernatural phenomena, making them the main figures of my own practice and myself a voice of their presence in human cultural systems.
Biography
Born in 1991. Multidisciplinary artist and researcher based in Russia. Studied cultural sociology, anthropology, storytelling, video art, and performative arts. Worked in the field of film production, cultural management and sustainable development before fully focusing on artistic practice.
‘More than the experience of various social interactions, I was influenced by the close encounters with natural systems and its inhabitants. From childhood memories of Petri dishes in my mom's microbiology lab to forest walks, underwater diving, surfing and living near the jungle.
Education
2009 - 2015 — Sociology, Saint-Petersburg University of Culture and Arts
Short courses
2015 — Video art, Multimedia Art Museum Moscow (tutor Dimitri Venkov)
Group exhibitions and projects
2024 — 2025 The reading group 'Non-human animals and machinery', Garage.Digital, Moscow
2022 — EDEN Petersburg Laboratory, ITMO University (interdisciplinary plant research), curated by Olga Kisseleva, Saint-Petersburg
2022 — ABCD Books, Promgrafika, Moscow
2021 — HYDRA Laboratory (interdisciplinary studies of the ecological context of St. Petersburg), featuring Raphaele Acquaviva, Robertina Šebjanič, Jana Winderen, Saint-Petersburg
2018 — Second Water, White Room Foundation, Moscow
2018 — BYOB, Proun Moscow
Special projects and collaborations
2026 — Katya Lesun x Befree Secret Garden collaboration
2025 — Katya Lesun x Befree Co:create collaboration
Curatorial projects
2016 — Space Split Into Equal Parts, Each Filled With Sound Directed in a Different Way Performance, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Texts
2022 — A walk as an ideal meme, The database of decoded memes Friiends Moscow
Press
Befree has released T—shirts with scented prints - together with artist Katya Lesun. Burning Hut magazine, March 2026
Befree Co:Create Hub - Katya Lesun, March 2025
