Kamila Kusmanova

About

Kamila Kusmanova (b.1995) is a multimedia artist based in London, currently completing an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Her practice examines how history is suppressed, memory is controlled, and cultural identity is shaped by systems of power in post-Soviet Central Asia. She focuses on the long-term effects of erasure and the trauma it produces across generations.

Born in Kazakhstan and raised in Russia, Kamila’s background gives her a unique perspective on cultural displacement and the experience of navigating inherited histories that have been suppressed or hidden.

She works primarily with sculpture and textile-based installation, using materials such as wool and traditional Central Asian wet felting techniques. These methods serve not only to preserve cultural knowledge, but also to question how histories are passed down, lost, or ignored. Her material processes reflect a commitment to making hidden or marginalised narratives visible.

Kamila’s research combines oral histories, fragmented family archives, and interdisciplinary study. Her work does not aim to reconstruct the past, but to acknowledge what has been left out. She uses sculpture as a space to examine the impact of historical silencing and to create space for memory to be carried forward with critical intent.