Akleriah is a Performance Art Collective founded in 2009 by Anna Kompanients and Lenka Johanna-Marie. Akleriah is a way of bringing together artists of all mediums to create performances which build up a multi-faceted reality by involving the audience through sound, touch, smell, taste and visual extravaganza.Anna and Lenka met while studying at Goldsmiths, where they found similar interests and formed Akleriah. Their aim is to remove the exclusivity of art and inject more life, excitement and joy into art for everyone to enjoy. Themes range from the political to the spiritual, the philosophical to the magical, folklore and the psychological. They are inspired by their Russian and Czech backgrounds and use their origins as a filter for more challenging and provocative thinking.
Motto: ‘GENIUSIZEDDUCKLINGART’
Akleriah is an honest philosophy of ‘reality’. We are all solitary dreamers of senses we sometimes don’t’ understand, tastes we can’t speak of. Where is that land of our childhood eyes? Does everything make sense until we are displaced into others reality?
What was the faith of Andersen’s ‘Ugly Duckling’? It is a story of the ‘beautiful’ signet that just happened to be blown by circumstances into different ‘reality not tailored for it. It became ‘ugly’.
Akleriah’s motto is about fashioning to the size that fits everybody everywhere. It changes perception of belief systems, everyday rituals, gestures and learned behaviours.
Akleriah explores the way we look at ourselves and each other through the mirror reflection of the inside to the outside. Life is the art of flow. It is like bubbles that are blown to show the magical colours for the moment that lasts just long enough before they pop!
Let’s change the rhythm of the clock!
An interview with Akleriah
Q: What is your signature drink?
A: Our Akleriah special - pomegranate juice(double shot), vodka(double shot), vanilla, gin(single shot), a splash of red wine(single shot), rose syrup,sprinkle of ground coffee, stir and serve in larger iced glasses.
Q: Can you reveal a secret about your location?
A: Akleriah is a philosophy that can't be rooted to any single location.
Q: Where is your next travel destination?
A: We are hoping to do an octagonal travelling performance London- Moskow-Berlin-Prague-Paris.
Q: What are your top 3 films?
A: In our current exploration for a performance it would be : The Savages, Orlando, Pleasantville.
Q: What’s most played in your music collection?
A: Our music ranges from classical to contemporary, experimental and anything in-between!
Q: What is your favorite song lyric and who is it by?
A: Lyrics and songs are like clothes - would you want to wear the same outfit every day of the year?
Q: What's you best memory from University?
A: When Akleriah was born after collaborating on a performance at London Zoo. After monkey training log was carried by Anna around the Zoo while Lenka was burning her paintbrush and dropping daffodils we took on a role of caged animals.
Q: Where's your local 'hang out'?
A: Southbank, at the moment, has the right mixture.
Q: Who would you most like to dress up as?
A: A character that has never been seen before.
Q: What makes a good performance?
A: Depth, laugh, sorrow, symbolism, cats, glitter, triangular relationships, souls, red wine, rituals.
Q: If you could only use one word to describe yourself what would it be?
A: Akleriah
Q: Which Magazines do you regularly read and why?
A: Akleriah - we telepathically Google it to each other because it's an honest reality.
The ladies behind Akleriah
Anna and Lenka are multimedia conceptual artists, singers and dancers and love to involve other performers such as musicians, actors and dancers, which makes their work captivating for the viewer.
Anna Kompanients
Anna was born in Russian and has lived in UK since she was 12. Her work is inspired by roots; Russian Orthodox iconography, folklore, crafts, mythology, political satire, contemporary celebrity culture, philosophic ideals and the kitsch.
www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/annakompaniets -drawings portfolio
www.anart.co.uk - web
http://rustyleltd.com/rustyle-artist/ - current representation
www.flikr.com/photos/annakompaniets- extended portfolio
Lenka Johanna-Marie
Born in Prague, Lenka lives and works in London. Her work is inspired by the political and historical, influence by her European background.
