The Moscow Metro still honours the building of socialism, even though socialism was dismantled and most of the city is now shaped by shopping malls and the new capitalist modes of production. Just as every other country plagued by poverty, Russia longs for more and more wealth and wants to put it on a display: big expensive cars, furs and fashion, high-rise buildings, trendy restaurants. But there is one place that has yet to be influenced by the spread of capitalism. The Moscow Metro, one of the cheapest modes of transportation in Russia, still celebrates labour, revolution and socialism.
Now in Russia, memories of the Second World War are produced and reproduced endlessly according to the desires of the government and the masses. People tend to forget the uneasy history of Russia and at the same time they want to have hopes and a national identity. Today the Victory Day (the 9th of May) that symbolises the victory of Russia in the Second World War – is one of the cornerstones of modern national identity. However, it is no longer the Victory Day it was 20 or 30 years ago. Instead, it is a completely new holiday for the generations that have no actual memories about life in the Soviet Union.
If your childhood was a nightmare it does not mean it didn’t exist. This project explores the reality behind happy childhood pictures. Families carefully portray summer and children in colourful outfits, trying to pretend that everything is all right and in order. Happy pictures can be deconstructed if you dare to look at them from a perspective beyond their superficial presentations.
What if nude models were not mute? Not objects at all. On the contrary – each of them is a human being with a unique body and a unique story. What if they told you what they think about their body parts? In this work there is an attempt to set the female body outside of the male gaze.
A video artwork in which several women talk about their relationships. Their monologues culminate into one sentence, as if they have all been through the same unpleasant experience.
Since 2016 Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Class Alba D’Urbano.
2006 – 2011 VGIK (The Russian State University of Cinematography)
2016 – “STYRIA Air”, Graz. Austria
2015 – “A-Art, F-Feminism. Dictionary ”, Moscow. Russia
2015 – “Contemporary Art in a Traditional Museum”, St. Petersburg. Russia
2015 – “Motherhood”, Kiev. Ukraine
2015 – “And What about Love?”, St. Petersburg. Russia
2014 – “Golden Apricot”, Yerevan. Armenia
2014 – “Queer Feminist Action”, Vienna. Austria
2014 – “Kultur Kontakt”, Vienna. Austria
2013 – “Feminist Worker”, Sophia. Bulgaria
2013 – “Cabinet of Curiosities”, Helsinki. Finland
2013 – “Bechdel Test”, Kiev-Kharkov-Odessa. Ukraine
2013 – “To-kino”, Vilnius. Lithuania
2013 – “Kinotavr film-fest”, Sochi. Russia
2012 – “Queer-fest”, St. Petersburg. Russia
2012 – “Density of Expectations”, St. Petersburg. Russia
2011 – “Rauma Biennial Baltic”, Rauma. Finland
2011 – “Kandinsky prize”, Moscow. Russia