Temptation of Death is the latest cycle of works by Boris Mikhailov. It is made up of more than 150 diptychs featuring a combination of images from the past Together with new photographs produced by the Ukrainian artist inside an enormous crematory built in Kiev during the Soviet era. The abandoned architecture of this place – and the unfettered nature which in such a short time has taken back over – provide the starting point for the whole project. The diptych structure through which it is articulated immediately evokes a constant state of uncertainty, ambiguity and change. As for his subject, Mikhailov bases this new monumental work on the theme of the passage, investigated in all its countless aspects from just as many different points of view: 1) the passage between the two photographs of each diptych, which suddenly come into contact/confrontation/collision here, unleashing unexpected meanings and formal coincidences; 2) between the old and the new, which blend together and question the very concepts of (narrative) linearity and evolution; 3) between the celestial heights of the spirit and the mere concreteness of the flesh, of human waste and foolishness; 4) between the communist past and the capitalist present, both portrayed as corrupt systems doomed to failure; 5) the passage between life and death.
Boris Mikhailov – Temptation Of Death
B11 BIENNALE DELL’IMMAGINE DI CHIASSO
From 5th october to 8th december
SPAZIO OFFICINA, Chiasso (Switzerland)
