The search for identity- such is the main theme which ties together the Russian and foreign photographers’ projects presented at Moscow’s Multimedia Art Museum as a part of XI th International Month of Photography in Moscow Photobiennale – 2016.
Certain artists searched for their identity in their family history. The project Fox Soup by photographer Pascal Colrat is a thorough reconstitution of dramatic events that happened within his family in 1935.
Jana Romanova also turned towards her family history. The title of her project, Shvilishvili, translating literally to “the son’s son”, talks about the ties of lineage as a new source of inspiration in the search for one’s own identity. More widely, the artist asks herself about the value of family photos, the family as an institution in today’s world, and the way that family relationships are maintained by families separated by countries’ borders or tragic events.
Other photographers find it necessary to leave behind the framework of the family in order to find their identities. This phenomenon is largely linked to the vacuum of auto-identification that occurred after the fall of the USSR. Elizaveta Tchoulantseva uses the “family album photo” rules to help us discover the history of a Russian street, while Lucia Ganieva offers us a nostalgic journey through her childhood, represented by the town of Kuvady. Egor Zaïka defines the notion of “Homeland” by showing us numerous objects, common to an entire generation, which transport us instantly to the 1980s- 1990s. These are known to all who lived during the time of extreme shortages in Soviet stores and bring back memories that form, according to him, our collective representation of the Homeland.
Alexandre Verevkine tries to understand what is one’s homeland in an empirical fashion. Based on the well-known map of his country, he is going to ride his bike in a field in order to retrace as accurately as possible the shape of Russia by following its borders while a camera attached to his handlebars records all the adventures of this two-hour journey.
Andrei Ivanov points his camera to anonymous slogans situated on the outskirts of today’s political discourse. Official internationalism of the Soviet Era underwent a defeat during the disintegration of the USSR.
The Donbas, Forest and Zelenograd projects are folklore expeditions undertaken by Dimitri Staroussev, Rodchenko Moscow School student, with the aim of discovering the “genius of location”.
Ekaterina Mamontova is also a student of the Rodchenko School, student of Igor Moukhine. She studies the various escapisms available to today’s man in his attempt to overcome isolation and solitude. To which her Folk summerFest and Mosh series are dedicated.
The French photographer Theirry Bouët attempts to discover people’s individuality through the objects belonging to them. This is what he tells us in his series Personal Affaires where he gathers the people who sell the most unseemly objects via the internet.
In her new project Only a game?, Maria Ionova Gribina superimposes children’s portraits with their favorite toy weapons as well as online store ads that sell these toys. Without imposing her opinion, the artist allows the viewer to decide what he or she feels when seeing children hold these weapons accompanied by enticing ad slogans.
Polina Muzyka describes the perverse reactions of people during periods of crisis. One of hers is pica, the tendency to eat non-consumable substances or to happily ingest food that is too spicy.
In response to the ideologic crisis, Zhenya Mironov turns toward the search of a new visuality. According to him, in order to provoke the viewer and change his way of seeing, it’s necessary to change his own perception, to detach himself from his “normative” manner, one-dimensional to see the world around you.
Arnold Veber looks for purely technical methods on how to conserve the identity of visual information even in the worst conditions.
Over the course of the week, L’Oeil de la Photographie is going to report on some of the exhibitions from the event presenting either Russian artists or international artists.
Exhibitions :
• Pascal Colrat – La Soupe des renards
Curator : Anna Zaïtséva
With support by Embassy of France in Russia and French Institute in Russia
• Jana Romanova – Chvilichvili
Curator : Anna Zaïtseva
• Genia Mironov – Coucher de soleil cru, Arts plastiques japonnais
Curator : Anna Zaïtseva
• Elizaveta Tchoukhlantseva – L’Histoire du général Safiouline
Curator : Nina Lévitina
Project presented by School of Photography and Multimedia Rodchenko, Moscow
• Egor Zaïka – la Patrie
Curator : Nina Levitina
With support by Master Card Villes Inestimables
• Alexandre Verevkine 2,31 metres à la seconde
Project presented by The Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow and Foundation PhotoDepartement in Saint Petersbourg
• Andrei Ivanov : Indice d’identité
Curator : Anna Zaïtseva
Project presented by The Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow and Foundation PhotoDepartement in Saint Petersbourg
• Maria Ionova Gribina – On joue ?
Curator : Anna Zaïtseva
• Lucia Ganieva – Kuvady
Curator : Anna Zaïtseva
Project presented by The Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow and Schilt Gallery, Amsterdam
• Ekaterina Mamontova – Mosh, Folk Summer Fest
Curator: Igor Moukhine
Project presented by School of Photography and Multimedia Rodchenko, Moscow
• Arnold Veber – 16 couleurs
Project presented by School of Photography and Multimedia Rodchenko, Moscow
• Dmitri Staroussev – Expédition folklorique. Partie I: La forêt. Partie 2: Zelenograd, Donbass
Curator : Serguei Bratkov
Project presented by School of Photography and Multimedia Rodchenko, Moscow
• Thierry Bouët – Petites annonces
Curator : Sam Stourdzé
Project presented by Festival Rencontres photographiques d’Arles
INFORMATIONS
http://www.mamm-mdf.ru/en/
