Hannah Epstein (AKA Hanski) is a contemporary artist whose practice synthesizes folkloric traditions, digital innovation, and cultural narrative critique.
Raised in Nova Scotia by three generations of Latvian women, Epstein embodies a unique cultural hybridity—half Latvian, half Jewish—a seemingly improbable combination in 1980s Canada, fostering a perspective that actively dispels any adherence to a singular identity.
Captivated at an early age by the vibrant images on American television channels and the slowly loading visuals on Internet 1.0 desktops, Epstein was struck by art and entertainment that starkly contrasted the grayness of her immediate reality. This formative experience deeply informed her artistic exploration, establishing media as both a refuge and a critical lens through which to examine contemporary culture.
Holding a BA in Folklore from Memorial University and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon, Epstein's practice rigorously engages traditional storytelling techniques while critically confronting the commodification and mediation of contemporary narratives. She seamlessly integrates tactile textile methods, such as rug hooking, with advanced digital processes, including AI, animation, and video games, creating dynamic intersections between ancestral wisdom and speculative digital futures. Notably, Epstein played a pioneering role in the early 2010s women-in-games movement, advocating for an expanded understanding of gameplay within digital spaces.
Epstein's current textile and mixed-media works transform centuries-old rug-hooking techniques into immersive narrative worlds that blur myth, memory, and coded lore. Through plush, looping textures, she channels the collective unconscious, crafting uncanny characters that bridge analog and digital realities.
Her work has been internationally exhibited and has been featured prominently in publications such as the LA Times, Canadian Art, CBC Arts, Hyperallergic, Architectural Digest, and Juxtapoz Magazine.
During the transformative Covid era, Epstein retreated to Nova Scotia to convert a historic church into a home, studio, and gallery space. She is now entirely focused on her artistic practice and raising her young family.