28.06.24, 16:47 2024-06-28T16:47:50+03:00
“IN THE LAYERS OF FEARS”, 2024
ULYANA YELKINA
Today, the 4-tier (!) cake “In Layers of Fears”, rendered in a unique technique, is the largest object in Ulyana’s artistic practice. As a symbol, it is an integral part of celebrations: every year we blow out birthday candles, enveloping them with our wishes and hopes, the flip side of which are expectations and fears. Each tier is a visual embodiment of the fears inherent in a certain age: from bottom to top, from childhood to old age. As they grow older, the colors become duller, reflecting internal conflicts and insecurities. The last tier, representing old age, is made in pale colors: on top there is only a base of white sheets. The object combined techniques such as cold batik, tufting, machine embroidery, appliqué, satin stitch embroidery, hand dyeing, and free drawing. The dynamic movement around the cake reflects the cyclical nature of life: we are constantly moving forward, faced with new fears and hopes, but also the inevitability of time.
“WHAT IS IT CALLED”, 2024
ALISA GORSHENINA
As Alice herself says, the visual image of the work is a continuation of the “Heart-shaped Box” project: it is a kind of metaphorical box for everything happy, scary, funny, sick, the most beautiful, experienced, sensual, seen. There is already a lot in this box, but there is enough room for even more to fit in. Continuing with the theme of spaces and containers for “everything sensual”, in this work the artist herself becomes a box for the heart. It is open and vulnerable, but at the same time the arches of the body try to protect it. “When everything around you falls apart, you want to take the most precious and important thing and protect it. But how and where to find a safe space? I found that place inside myself,” Alisa shared.
“SOFT MUSIC I” SERIES, “SOFT MUSIC II”, 2023
DMITRI TSVEKOV
The objects were created specifically for the personal exhibition “The Song is Sung”, which was held at the Ruarts Gallery in 2023. Tsvetkov develops the dual concept of absence-presence, demonstrating that the invisible is not at all non-existent and immaterial. The fact that you cannot listen to music is a reference to the fact that today many projects are not realized, that it is incredibly difficult to talk about current issues, and also reminds us how important it is in art not only what we see or hear, but also what we feel and perceive on a deeper level. Objects in the form of drums and strings are designed to play Tsvetkov’s silent melody. Having eliminated the main purpose of the instrument, to produce sound, the artist creates simulacra, things that do not actually exist. According to Tsvetkov, “art owes nothing to anyone, much less be useful. The purpose of art is art.”
“CHOOSE YOUR PLAYER” SERIES, 2024
KATYA ISAEVA
The history of human interaction with animals is ancient and revolves around certain cultural codes. For example, artists in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance often depicted biblical scenes in which God the Creator creates animals. The idea of man in the image and likeness of God and of animals that God “gives to man to dominate” has shaped an anthropocentric vision of the world, with man at the top of the food chain. In turn, Katya, in a series of textile works, combines images from classical 16th-century engravings with texts by Borges, popular songs and memes, linked by reflections on the confrontation between animals and humans and the question: should we endow animals with magical abilities? Should we help them in their struggle for survival?
“WORDS OF PEARL” CYCLE, 2024
POLINA SERAFIMOVA
Previously, the ornament was a message in which the pattern served as a talisman and divination, protection and spell. The embroidery could be read. Poetry was not composed, but rather “woven” into everyday life. For example, in an old Chuvash song there are the following lines: “I put on a white shirt, / The sleeves and hem are written. / I read the pattern for the sleeves – / We must go at night. / I read the hem pattern – / You have to come early in the morning.” In the series “Words from a Pearl”, Polina combines practices: on the one hand, she resorts to collage, where an image or text is assembled or reassembled, on the other hand, she wants to recite embroidered messages, say them out loud, that is why these embroidered strips of fabric look like banners. White on white, like snow or clouds, creates an atmosphere of subtlety where meanings emerge on their own. And it is always a linguistic game. The search for new interpretations can lead to the discovery of new music in the works.
“MUCH TIME TOGETHER” SERIES, 2024
LIZA OLSHANSKAYA
We notice a series that seems drawn from a distance. In fact, this is embroidery. We fell into this trap (we are very happy to be fooled) and asked the artist what she herself thought of her works. “There are some things that are impossible to let go of. They are already between 15 and 20 years old, I remember under what circumstances I bought them, they traveled with me to different countries, stayed overnight as guests, moved from the workshop outside the city and returned, they were smart and everyday. I miss you when we are apart. It became clear that the time had come to draw them, and I draw with embroidery,” Lisa revealed the secret.
“OKTYABRSKAYA STREET, 7, apartment. 10/4″, 2021
“OKTYABRSKAYA STREET, 7, apartment. 10/2″, 2021
ANASTASIA LITVINOVA
A series of works is devoted to the study of memory through the reconstruction of the interior of a family home. “In this project, I explore the memory of my grandparents’ house in the village of Pervomaisky in the Tula region, creating a collective image of the interiors as a universal construction set in the spirit of IKEA,” says Anastasia. Vague images from childhood can easily be supplemented with others: personal memory is easily replaced by collective memory. Therefore, the technique of cyanotype is fully consistent with the concept: initially, this photographic print was used to create copies. The interiors, marked by time and the shadow of objects, look like the stage of a theatre of silence. But if you make an effort, then in these traces of disappearance created as if from a tracing, you can find something close to everyone, you can add to your imagination your grandmother’s favourite chair, the barely perceptible movement of tulle in the wind; sunbeams on the glass wall… To one degree or another, we are all neighbours in memories.
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