CYLAND MediaArtLab artists Anna Frants and Elena Gubanova participate at The Magician’s Hat exhibition the Solyanka State Gallery in Moscow. The exhibition is dedicated the moomins and other idols of childhood.
The Moomins are the children of the outstanding Scandinavian storyteller (and also the artist and poet) Tove Jansson. Not only did she invent her characters, but, unlike Astrid Lindgren (creator of the hero of last year’s hugely popular Karlsson-on-the-Roof Exhibit at Solyanka), she also illustrated her own books. More specifically, she first drew them and then accompanied the result with words, hence the primacy of the image in this case.
The Moomins are one of the reasons why multiple generations of Soviet and Russian kids grew up happy. For they perfectly knew: if there’s something you don’t understand, ask your mom (she knows best), you might get electrocuted by the Hattifatteners after a thunderstorm, and at some point in life you have to get rid of the most precious thing on your head (namely, your hat) and throw it into the river.
Millions of people in the former USSR grew enamored of the Moomins for their otherworldliness — you couldn’t tell how old they were, how much money they had, nor what they did for a living. A lot of kids (or their parents, for that matter) would gladly undertake some sort of «inner emigration» into the Moomin universe that could protect them against any troubles and where they would find a quiet shelter, their cave of happiness.
Anna Frants’ Trembling Creaturesi installation included in the exhibition
The fifth winter exhibition at Solyanka will deal not only with the Moomins but also with related subjects: parallel civilizations, funny families, great (albeit tiny) creatures, Nordic happiness, coziness and warmth of one’s home or burrow and, finally, winter pleasures that the Scandinavians have a taste for more than anyone else.
Contemporary art from Finland, Russia and all over the world, archival treasures from Finnish and Russian museums, an assorted smorgasbord of international animation, Solyanka’s famous art experiments — everything will be caught up in a wonderful whirlwind of snow, including «The Magician’s Hat» and those of our visitors who may want to look into it.
The Magician’s Hat opens on December 23, 2015 at the Solyanka State Gallery (Solyanka street 1/2, bld. 2) in Moscow. The exhibition will be on display until February 23, 2016.