KRASN'EN'KO
(SO EXHAUSTED CAN'T EVEN TALK)
different types of wooden plates for furniture (hanged in the following order: 18-19 '2000, 20-22
'2000, 25-26 '2000, 48-49 '2000, 14-15 '2001, 16-17 '2001, 18-19 '2001, '?), steel, acidized zinc,
print on wood, varnish, construction adhesive
In translation from Russian ‘krasn’en’ko' means reddish. This word is a literal quote by
former Russian president Boris Yeltsin from 2001* when he succinctly
reacted to the
new state anthem, which was clearly just a remake of the Soviet predecessor. In that
one very poetical word lie pain
and loss
of the vague hope for the liberalization of the
new country, administered at that time by the young and promising president.
The work in progress ‘Krasn’en’ko’ is a grieving reflection (reference:
gravestones) on the Soviet past of modern Russian
(reference: ‘Я Молодой’ (I’m
Young)
magazine covers for young people from 2000 and 2001). Apart from the
post-Soviet heritage the culture and traditions of propaganda,
which
traces
could be found in Catholicism (reference: poetic quotes from Matthäus-Passion
by J.S. Bach in collaboration with C.F. Henrici) are being actively subverted.
* – this quote was taken from a documentary film 'Svideteli Putina' (2018) by Vitaly Mansky
IN A MOMENT THINGS WILL CHANGE
(WITH ALL OUR SOULS, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE NON)
2022-2023
5 zinc plates 15 x 38 x 0,1 cm, black oil-based paint, acid traces, asphaltic
bitumen, glue, sawdust, 20 sheet-metal screws, Russian 10 rub. coin
Five dysfunctional zinc plates are covered with dry oil paint, which in its liquid form is
used to make print copies,
therefore their proper production is unachievable.
It is
something that remains with you. A permanent malfunction of a body.
The dead can’t be discarded or forgotten. You live with them, sometimes even for
them.
Cargo 200. The socio-political notion, originally a military code name, appeared in
wartime at the end of the 20th century. A multitude of coffins made out of zinc,
packed
in wooden boxes for transportation purposes.
Lower speed of decomposition,no
cadaveric alkaloid, no inconvenient ugliness, no personhood of
a formerly ‘valuable'
body. Just tags and the gleam of metal. ‘200' states for the maximum weight in
kilograms for an aircraft to transport the dead.
The notion,
which was initiated more
than 30 years ago is still happening. 2022 (1979) - ? (1989).
Can the late USSR be other than geopolitical, instead mutate into a sociocultural
phenomenon?
Cargo 200. Also known as a film produced by the Russian film director Alexey
Balabanov. Released in 2007. It tells a story of a rural city in the USSR during the times
of the Afghan war (1979 - 1989). Most of the characters in the film try to talk about such
topics as love, youth, hope, and happiness,
but all of that works as ignoratio elenchi or
strawman fallacy. Love is depicted through torture and rape, adolescence as a proposal
to use
others for personal benefits, hope and happiness as being drowned in alcohol
and violence.
Ignoratio. Ignoring as a norm. Governmental negligence of the past events and of life
itself. Only (re)production of dead bodies driven by personal interests.
Empty space with zinc plates depicting landscape-like scenes taken out of Balabanov’s
movie. Presented screenshots show no human images,
only their fragmented traces: a
blood stain, a shadow, glasses with drinkable fluid, a hand, industrial factories, a
transport system.
All the plates contain images that are flipped horizontally. All the
plates are burned wit asphaltic bitumen dust and etched with acid
to correctly achieve
the purpose of further reproduction and distribution of the final product.
1979. 1991. 2007. 2014. 2022. What is left for now? To still try, while being gassed by
the (Moment) glue, to forget about being screwed to the wall.
TO DRAW ATTENTION TO AN ISSUE
2022
Print on synthetic satin, hypoallergenic silicone, pigment, metal,
leather particles, ash
Performative artifacts or traces of compulsive dance. Something acquired to get away from life by actual living, which is always about pain and power.
The higher the power, the higher the pain. To be in pain is to be in a process, to be in that particular moment of…
To be present and not be able to tear yourself apart from yourself. It’s what can cultivate immanent surveillance and humiliation (read: formerly 'punishment').
The key topics of the research were: notion of birth in the modern accelerated and heavily militarized world;
the management of faith in conflict situations; and the complexity of physical and psychic pain.
Chosen materials can be separated into two groups: ones that are immanently corporeal such as silicone, and leather;
and others, whose nature functions through a technological intrusion: metal disks, synthetic fabric, and printer ink.
The main material, which is silicone, is a bodily notion of two: psyche and physic. It’s skin.
A protective barrier, but also a frontage. It hides and it shows.
The corrosions or scars on the skin is an in-game navigation markers (a round map, a pop-up notification that the bomb has been planted,
and available weapon selection) from the Counter-Strike game series.
These scars are silent helpers, but also witnesses of military plots and personal strategies of concurring.
The three-part graphic work consists of a mixture between pencil drawings and digital post-touch-ups in Photoshop.
Such a formal alliance between natural and technological helps narrow the hierarchy between eternal youth and decay.
God and a human. Parent and a child. Object and subject. Something tangible and intangible.
And forcefully create a space of coexistence, codependency, correlation.
NOTHING HAVE I EARNED...
NOTHING HAVE I EARNED.
2021
Print on synthetic satin
150 x 220 cm, looped sound 12'17", two speakers, concrete, hypoallergenic silicone, metal, pine needles, rust
