Impossible travels in the Netherlands, Russia and Persia then and now

Location: Zubovsky Boulevard, 2, bldg. 1, small hall

January 30 at the Museum of Moscow will open an exhibition inspired by the book of the Dutch explorer Jan Streis, “Three Journeys” - a collection of stories and notes that the author wrote during his journey through the east and south-east of Europe and the areas bordering it. Visitors will see the works of contemporary artists from Russia, Iran and the Netherlands, as well as archaeological finds of the second half of the 17th century from the collection of the Moscow Museum and the Museum-Reserve “Island-city Sviyazhsk”.

Streis arrived in Russia in 1668 and witnessed many important historical events. For several years, he managed to take part in battles and blockades, survived a shipwreck and earthquake, was sold into slavery and then redeemed.

In the process of working on the project, contemporary artists made part of Streis’s journey in order to study what European travelers have today, four centuries later, about the easternmost part of Europe and neighboring regions, known for a huge variety of cultures, customs and traditions. The project participants together and separately visited the cities in which the Dutch sailors voluntarily or for some time lived. The result was work that cast doubt on the stereotyped perception of other cultures and eras.

Soda lime is a teamwork created by Oleg Elagin (Russia), Sepide Behruzyan (Iran) and Cecilia Hendricks (Netherlands). Artists repeat the path once done by Jan Streis, but they are primarily interested in the phenomenon of sight. The volumetric installation is composed of numerous planes. The viewer appears to be in front of a mirror, where in each of the faces looms an image that can be interpreted in two ways. A similar role was given to rivers in Streis’s notes: they connect the West with the East and consist of water and sand. Soda lime also consists of water and sand. The video mounted in the object shows scenes from everyday life occurring on the banks of different rivers: dozens of participants submitted their videos, and reality is shown through their eyes.

Dutch artist Paulin Olthayten presents a two-channel video “Walking the Road Overpowered,” filmed in the Russian city of Samara and Iranian Isfahan. Unfolding in different countries, the plots of the video work of Altheyten add up to an integral statement about how stories and cultures can be interpreted in parallel, opposite or connected.

The work of Oksana Stogova is the collage “Double Russian portrait”, which combines the Volga species, photographed from one point throughout the year, and pictures of drainpipes, always broken and groomed. The first European travelers who came to these places admired the Volga landscape. And drainpipes are a subject of a city landscape.

Zeynab Shahidi Marnani presents the work, which she describes as a “visual autobiographical epic.” The object is a series of documentary images depicting life in Iran and beyond. Among them there are postcards, old science books for children, magazines with knitting patterns and religious images. All elements look familiar, but they are connected in an unpredictable way, like a complex carpet pattern.

“Impossible travels in the Netherlands, Russia and Persia then and now” is part of the Heritage: Common Grounds project, which is funded by the European Union with the participation of the Emrooz Gallery in Isfahan, the Victoria Gallery in Samara, the European Cultural Fund, the Foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, Herbrandi Cultural Foundation, Cargo in Context project, Castrum Peregrini cultural center, Moscow Museum, Va Isfahan Center for Contemporary Art, Royal Netherlands Embassy in Moscow, Royal Netherlands Embassy in Tehran, cultural programs The Prince Klaus Foundation, a joint cultural heritage co-financing program at the DutchCulture International Cooperation Center, Wilhelmina Jansen Foundation, Creative Industries Foundation, Mondrian Foundation and Roberto Cimetta Foundation.