on outrageous taste

interview by FELIX BURRICHTER
portrait by OLIVIER ZAHM

FELIX BURRICHTER — Where are you from, and how did you get to Berlin?

KSENIA SHESTAKOVSKI — I was born in Russia, and my family emigrated to Israel when I was 15. For years, I lived by myself in a kibbutz. Then my parents joined me. Then I lived in Tel Aviv, before coming to Berlin, where I’ve been living for the past seven years. That’s my story.

FELIX BURRICHTER — Where was the kibbutz? How long were you there?

KSENIA SHESTAKOVSKI — Three years. It was on the Dead Sea.

FELIX BURRICHTER — I think I’ve been there. They have a kind of hotel and a restaurant, right?

KSENIA SHESTAKOVSKI — Well, there’s only one kibbutz on the Dead Sea, and many little communities that are similar, but a kibbutz is a kind of Communist organization. Few…