Formal Geometry of related events 12 dec 2019 — 31 jan 2020
Olesya lavrinenko, veniamin stepanov
Olesya Lavrinenko's textile installation visually resembles psychedelic scenery for a rave in the forest. The absence of a dominant tone or color creates a fragmented space in which individual fragments seem to be self-sufficient and not subject to any general idea. The best trip is without a pre-planned route, the best message is without ideology. The logic of freedom can be traced in other aspects of the artist's work.
The viewer not only complements the composition at his own discretion, but also theoretically - can change the shape of objects whose frame is made of wire. All this resembles a bean bag - a bean bag chair stuffed with plastic balls. You can never sit down in this chair completely — not because it is uncomfortable, but because the body wants new poses. This desire and the ability of the furniture to satisfy it create a vicious circle of uninterrupted movement. The main part of the installation consists of sculptures that have lost their rigidity. The hardest thing inside the installation is the viewer's body. Trying to interact with the soft objects, we ourselves are imbued with softness. The environment within prevents the viewer from limiting their experience to solid and static objects. It is believed that the arrangement of furniture in the interior reflects the character of the owner or even forms it. Installation works in the opposite way. Unlike art, which acts on the viewer like a mirror, looking into which, the viewer can say to himself and others “yes, this is me, this is my opinion.” The installation returns the viewer to a state of uncertainty about boundaries between "I" and "not-I".
Gentleness creates a situation in which action meets no resistance. The lack of a clear tactile signal during movement makes it difficult for us to determine the boundaries of the body. We have to move again and again to find integrity, even for a moment, and then lose it again. To watch effect of retroreflective fragments of the installation, we have to photograph them again and again with a flash. This endless process is an attempt to capture a reality that is soft and elusive to the touch, like a filler inside textile objects.
Gentleness creates a situation in which action meets no resistance. The lack of a clear tactile signal during movement makes it difficult for us to determine the boundaries of the body. We have to move again and again to find integrity, even for a moment, and then lose it again. To watch effect of retroreflective fragments of the installation, we have to photograph them again and again with a flash. This endless process is an attempt to capture a reality that is soft and elusive to the touch, like a filler inside textile objects.