Exhibition of Digital Art "Orient Express"

"Orient Express" is a joint project of the MARS Center and Moscow State Pedagogical University named after S.G. Stroganova, implemented with the support of the Czech Center in Moscow. It will be held as part of the special program of the 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art from October 9 to December 6 at the site of the MARS Center.

The exhibition explores the modern media landscape, which is the meeting place of Europe and Asia with their various technological and cultural traditions. The project involves artists from Russia and Central Europe, whose area of interest is related to high-tech art. Among them are the pioneer of Russian digital art, Konstantin Khudyakov, the iconic Czech media artist Yakub Nepras, the founders of the Curiosity Media Lab, Yan Kalnberzin and Evgeny Afonin, Recycle Group, Alexander Letsius, Dmitry and Elena Kavarga, Alexander Chaliapin, Alexey Devyanin (Pixelord), Taras Mashtalir and other

Konstantin Khudyakov, Yan Kalnberzin, Eugene Afonin. Angel eye

Jakub Neprasch. Community Auras

“The exposition is a fascinating journey into the country of paradoxes, it is similar to the legendary Trans-Siberian express train connecting a huge continent, its archaic primordiality and the latest technogenic landscape, ” notes project curator Kirill Gavrilin.

Key works:

“Cyrillic and Chinese characters as an encrypted cosmogony” is an interactive multi-level video installation of Konstantin Khudyakov. Hieroglyphs flashing with metaphysical light and bizarre initials from a banana peel break the boundaries of reality and illusory space, present and future. The artist discusses how the idea of progress is rapidly changing its orientation, confidently moving from the West to the East of Eurasia.

Konstantin Khudyakov. Cyrillic and Chinese characters

Konstantin Khudyakov. Cyrillic and Chinese characters

"Metropolis" is a sound kinetic video sculpture of Yakub Neprash. The myth of Ancient Babylon in the installation of Nepros transforms into modern Shanghai, and the bible crowding into the cycle of industrial production and uncontrolled consumption, where the city is like a machine, or a giant mechanism for processing raw materials. The circles in the projection are both a destructive whirlwind and the wheel of samsara, which are transformed in the eyes of the viewer into a hypnotic mandala.

Jakub Neprasch. Metropolis

The "Genome of Fortune" by Jan Kalnberzin and Eugene Afonin is a digital genetic sweepstake in which the viewer can see an episode of the endless evolution process using natural selection, turned into a gambling attraction. This breathtaking performance is reminiscent of Asian cockfights or the sight of a closed fighting club. Interestingly, the work based on spiritually entertaining work is based on a serious scientific foundation: the artists used the principle of genetic algorithms, which allows them to grow digital organisms in a virtual way. The algorithms on the basis of which the development of virtual creatures participating in the races takes place are based on real processes of evolution - mutations, crosses and breeding. The unique genetic tote created by artists turns the latest history of Eurasia into an arena for competitions.

Yan Kalnberzin, Eugene Afonin. Good luck genome

The “stones” of Recycle are the artifacts of modernity that may be inherited by future generations. These objects are part of the Paradise Network project, which conceptualizes the influence of social networks and virtual reality on the formation of the everyday cultural layer. It is interesting to note that the first solo exhibition of the famous Recycle group today (Andrey Blokhin, Georgy Kuznetsov) was held in 2008 at the MARS Center.

Recycle Group. Stones

Recycle Group. Stones

“Residual thought stream 5” is an interactive object of Dmitry and Elena Kavarg. Entering into contact with the object of art, the viewer gets a unique opportunity to establish a direct dialogue with his own psychophysiological mechanism. A biofeedback device and a specially created computer program are involved in the work. In real time, the device selects one of the many audio tracks - so the art object reacts to the brain bio-activity of the viewer. Thus, artists solve the difficult task of materializing the mechanisms of human consciousness, its psychophysiological processes and brain activity.

Dmitry and Elena Kavarga. Residual thought stream 5