Chimeric Variable Mantle

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A cascade of chiffon to commemorate summer's peak. After a while since my previous textile artefact, I'm delighted to introduce the Chimeric Variable Mantle.

Conceal, reveal, and stun with abandon – this polymorphous object’s limit is your imagination. A shawl, a dress, a kimono, a tapestry, a sari, a cape, a sun cover… Yet-unseen symbols and specimens from my upcoming exhibition adorn your body and environment, or evolve into something of your own design. At nearly three metres of luxe, creaseproof material, this might be the most extravagantly-proportioned scarf on Earth, guaranteed to impress the most discerning of interdimensional trend-setters. Available now in the shop.

Harbour 2022

An invocation of safety, belonging and peace on this restless vernal equinox. Rapt regeneration in chorus with the surging tides of spring. This image came to me in a February dream and working on it got me through the past month. Ink on paper, 13 x 19”.

Space Pieta for the Aliens ArtBook

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This is 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙋𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙖, my contribution to the ArtBook tribute to this 1986 horror masterpiece, out now in the UK from Titan Books and Printed In Blood.

Aliens came out when I was six, and that’s about how old I was when I watched it for the first time, fresh off a Russian-dubbed bootleg VHS tape dad proudly got his hands on, somehow, despite the Soviet embargo on Hollywood at the time. I was transfixed by the film’s exploration of the innate human fear of bodily invasion, and its particular grimy iconography of arduous, isolated life in space left a lasting imprint. But what resonates most is Ellen Ripley. Before Aliens, my many action heroes were beefy, brawny, and, with few exceptions, not-especially-sharp men; after Ripley, I never looked back. In this film she’s approached for her competence and her expertise. She’s also acutely human. And, as it becomes clear later in the film, she is at the centre of the narrative not in spite of being a woman, but precisely because of it. In 1980s Moscow, I’d never seen anyone like Ellen Ripley, and no one’s come close since, either. Watching her in “Aliens” at six changed my understanding of what’s possible, indelibly.

Podcast appearance || Alien Botany: A Glimpse Beyond

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It was my pleasure to speak with Mythogynist Podcast. Listen here. This is a follow-up to our 2018 interview.

Zoetica Ebb's "Alien Botany"  is a multimedia project of epic proportions and immaculate detail. It features “specimens of otherworldly plant-animal hybrids and their potential interactions with human hosts,” which “examine various mediums, from traditional illustration to sculpture and design.” What Zoetica has done is imagine not just a fantasy world, but the entire ecosystem that comprises it. Her drawings’ detail mimic the precision of biology textbooks. This conversation explores the mind and life behind the project. Zoetica is an accomplished artist, an inquisitive mind and a pleasure to speak with. We span her upbringing in communist Moscow to her life now in London is this lovely exchange.

Photo by Tas Limur

Photo by Tas Limur

Alien Botany at Still Life, London

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Some glimpses of the reception for my two-week residency at Still Life – a small private museum in East London. It was a sparkling, giddy affair amidst all manner of natural (and unnatural) curiosities.

My work was distributed throughout the entire space; in towering antique display cabinets (formerly from the Victoria & Albert museum), hung on walls between stuffed exotic birds, tucked beneath collections of artefacts and strange books, making for a scavenger hunt of discovery. To the casual observer, the Alien Botany diagrams were all part of the naturalist objects on display, and only close scrutiny revealed my specimens’ extraterrestrial origins. On opening night and through the exhibition, visitors left notes in a specially-prepared box with their impressions and sketches of their own mystery creatures - I’ll treasure them all.

Glowing gratitude to Still Life for inviting me, and to everyone who ventured out on a chilly November evening to toast an otherworld less ordinary.

Video and photos: Chkorev Photography, many more in the full album, here.

Music: "Sigil", ropegirl

London Reception This Thursday

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This week in London, specimen charts from my first Alien Botany cycle are presented in the spirit of naturalist discovery – amidst fossils, bugs, skulls, and all manner of oddities. Parts of the ongoing concept series will be showcased at Still Life in Hackney – the neighbourhood I've called home since arriving in the UK three years ago. Decipher the inner workings of illustrated otherworldly plant-animal hybrids, sip organic wine, and explore this tiny wunderkammer at the reception this Thursday.

Reception: November 7th, 7PM to 11PM
Art on view: November 2 – 16th, 10AM to 5PM
263 Well St, London E9 6RG
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Zoetica Ebb at Still Life

Alien Botany at Dorothy Circus Gallery

The tiny Alien Botany specimen below is part of The Miniature Show, curated by Travis Louie, at Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome. I felt more like a mad scientist than usual in the jeweller's glasses I wore while working on it. If you're near Rome, do to stop by and have a look at all the magnificent tinies in the coming days.

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Princeps sanguinem
Ink and acrylic on paper
Framed dimensions: 16 x 2.8"

•Thrives in hot, damp conditions.
•Hematophagous. Bioluminescent tendrils lure hosts, then latch on and absorb blood.
•The Princeps’ peptide-like secretions stop blood coagulation, and its small size allows it to go unnoticed.
•Bulb-root produces a deep-red, viscous sap, which attracts nematodes and similar roundworms, and appears to possess psychoactive properties.
•On-host lifespan undetermined as of this writing.

Actual size (depending on your resolution):

Princeps_sanguinem

New Alien Botany Fashion Objects

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Introducing Alien Botany bodywraps in in two muted shades of Venusian mists and distant sunsets. These are the largest Alien Botany scarves to date, measuring a generous 72 X 146 centimetres (28 X 57 inches) and lending themselves to a multitude of options.

Featuring a new pattern of our shipwrecked heroine’s illustrated discoveries – alien-botanical specimens and their interactions with host bodies; some parasitic, others symbiotic.

Cowl, shawl, head-wrap, cravat… Wear them however you please, year-round. Woven from effervescent cotton vera and finished with a fine rolled hem. Printed in microscopic detail and hand-finished in Britannia, 100% sweatshop-free. Both scarves are available in the shop, while supplies last.

An Introduction

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Zoetica Ebb and I'm a Moscow-born multimedia artist working in London. I revel in cosmic exploration, imaginary futures and their expression in fashion, and dithering the edges between fantasy and reality. Also, I really like dogs.

I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil, and have been exhibiting since 1999. I committed to my practice fully in 2011, when I began work on AlienBotany, my ongoing concept series. For now, I primarily use hyper-detailed ink drawing and limited-edition fashion designs to bring the Alien Botany universe to Earth. This project is a consequence of a lifetime of experiences and passions, conceived at the intersection of Soviet space obsession, love of the compulsive detail and speculation in antique scientific illustration, and fascination with the beauty and horror of the natural world. 

I've lived all over, and I travel a lot. I've been an arts and culture curator, a magazine editor, a filmmaker, a journalist, a blogger, and a photographer, the latter of which I still do from time to time. When I'm not working in my East London studio, I can be found wandering in gardens, sequestered in book forts, and adventuring across the universe. 

Until The Future,

Zo

Art in the Crypt - Electric Soiree in the Wake of Cosmic Bedlam

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Saturday marked the eve of my first London exhibition. Just one day after a mind-zapping blood moon eclipse, eight artists gathered in the winding crypt at St Pancras to share their work in a spectrally atmospheric environment.

"Chasm" flanked by two Alien Botany specimen in the St Pancras crypt, London

"Chasm" flanked by two Alien Botany specimen in the St Pancras crypt, London

In addition to this being my first London show, this was the first time in the years I've been developing Alien Botany, that I've exhibited it as one body of work. The setting couldn't have been better, with centuries-old brick and moulting paint subtly complementing the shades of cream and red in my pieces.

Yours truly amidst Interaction Tables 1 and 2

Yours truly amidst Interaction Tables 1 and 2

The crypt has a sense of silence, too, that seemed to stick around even when it filled with echoing voices and laughter. Despite the night's electric atmosphere, I felt my work was truly seen.

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"End of Spring" in the crypt

"End of Spring" in the crypt

This was a uniquely gratifying way to present this series visually: within three airy archways in the crypt's central row, which allowed viewers to get close and take time. That feeling of silence let me describe what I've been working on without having to raise my voice too much, or to contend for the listener's focus.

Winding historic rooms and one my Alien Botany specimens

Winding historic rooms and one my Alien Botany specimens

It was a true delight to be able to introduce my work in Europe in this manner, and to be able to have so many stimulating conversations all in one night. My hat's off to The Hellfire Club, who sponsored the event, for bringing everything and everyone together amidst significant cosmic activity - it was an objectively unforgettable evening, as well as a personal milestone for me.

Amorphophallus Venusinus, in multiple dimensions. 

Amorphophallus Venusinus, in multiple dimensions. 

With that, I'm packing a suitcase and setting off on a birthday escapade to the British wilderness for a reset and a much-needed digital detox. A massive thanks to everyone who came to the exhibit!

Until The Future,

Zo 

My First London Exhibition

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Please join me in the depths of the historic Saint Pancras crypt on July 28th, where Alien Botany is part of an eight-artist exhibition. It's my first time showing in London, my new home, and the reception happens to be three days before my birthday, so it feels extra momentous. I will be in attendance, and both prints and original art will be available for purchase.

This one-night showcase will feature the work of artists working with diverse and often subversive esoteric currents, alchemical processes, alien parasites, conjured spirits, and the manifestation of the forces of light and darkness.

I hope your curiosity is piqued!

Saturday 28th July 2018 from 7pm

The Crypt Gallery
St Pancras Church
Euston Rd
LONDON
NW1 2BA

Until The Future,

Zo