A RED WORD IS A LIE
2024
video installation, red bench, 08'56"
“A red word is a lie” is a poetic visual study of the socio-political landscape in contemporary Russia,
focusing on the court case of A. Navalny and other political prisoners.
The research is primarily based on open-source materials from the human rights organization OVD-Info and the non-governmental media TV Rain.
The video content includes personal footage taken by the artist in Germany and Turkey after migrating from Russia in 2022.
The core narrative of the video features a dragging landscape that falls into the void of a court announcement that doesn’t make any sense.
The fall has a certain tempo; occasionally pausing but never for long.
The color red plays a pivotal role, referencing the Soviet proverb, “A red word is not a lie,” where ‘red’ signifies beauty.
However, “not” is removed from the work’s title. By that, the work strips the prepared speech (for example, a court speech)
of its authority, allowing for a critical dismantling of its intended message.