Exhibition of Alexander Morozov "Politia / ΠΟΛΙΤΕΊΑ"

The Center of Creative Industries Factory, in collaboration with E. K. Art Bureau, is inviting the opening of Alexander Morozov’s POLITIA / ΠΟΛΙΤΕΊΑ project, which will take place on October 17 at 19:00 at 18 Perevedenovsky Lane (TsTI Factory). The exhibition is held as part of the updated program of the Center for Technology Factory “Factory workshops. Session III. "

“Politia / ΠΟΛΙΤΕΊΑ” is a study of the forms of political systems. In his project, the artist works with the idea of statehood, presenting political structures in the form of material objects made of steel.

The term “polity” in the dictionary is defined as the power of the majority and is used as a synonym for the concept of “independent community”. In his study, the artist tries to catch the intonation of the language of power. Most of the republics, the history of which Alexander refers to, appeared at the historical moment of the change of formations, at a time when the revolution in society coincided with the revolution in art. For example, the brilliant aesthetics and poet Gabriele d’Annunzio became the real dictator of the Fiume Republic (1920): in its constitution, compulsory music education was proclaimed the foundation of the political system of the state. At the same time, the poet Nasimovich-Chuzhak proclaimed state futurism in Vladivostok. He gathered the poets and avant-garde artists who formed the group "Creativity" in 1920, and began to publish the magazine of the same name - "the magazine of culture, art and social construction." The covers of this magazine can be seen at the exhibition as well as historical documents related to the stay in Vladivostok of Nikolai Aseev, Sergei Tretyakov and the father of Russian futurism - David Burliuk.

In the center of the exhibition, the artist presents six sculptural objects made of a metal rod. Each object is a kind of flag frame, supplemented by materials from the historical archives of the republics - the Ural, Far Eastern, Crimean People’s, Tatar, Siberian and Northern Ingria. Alexander Morozov notes:

“These objects are a symbol of peoples sailing along the“ sea of history ”; they refer to the work“ The Raft of the Medusa ”by Theodore Gericault. It is known that while working on the painting, Gericault molded wax figures of men and, placing them on a raft model, he studied from different points of view, resorting to the pinhole camera. So we, people, as if molded from the wax of history, look at the flags of the republics, wait for salvation, expecting a mystical Argus. However, salvation does not depend on us. The history of each of these republics is a history of constant attempts at escapism, a tragedy in which violence and blood symbolize the eternal victory of the empire. "

Artists often make autonomous territories and states the subject of research. In his book, “The State as a Life Form,” Rudolf Chöllen emphasizes (1916): “The state is not an accidental or artificial conglomerate of various aspects of human life, held together only by legalistic formulas; it is deeply rooted in historical and concrete realities, and is characterized by organic growth. ” The artist Alexander Morozov perceives and uses the political process as a sculptural material, creating volumetric forms based on historical knowledge and personal research.

Competition "Factory workshops. Session III ”was announced in December 2015 and was slightly different in format from the previous program: the authors of 1968-1980 were invited to participate. birth, that is, those who formally have already left the age of the "young artist" and fall into the category called in English "mid-career artists". As part of the competition, an expert council worked, which included curators, art historians and critics: Alexandra Danilova, Andrei Kovalev, Elena Kuprina-Lyakhovich, Julia Lebedeva, Alexander Panov, Sergey Troshchenkov and Asya Filippova. In addition to the nomination "Workshop at the Factory", a new nomination was announced - "Exhibition at the Factory". Of the one hundred applications sent to the competition, seventeen won: eleven projects were implemented throughout the year in the premises of the TEC, six artists received and are constantly working in workshops in Perevedenovsky Lane. The project of Alexander Morozov “Politia” became the winner in the nomination “Exhibition at the Factory”.