Mixed media: 3 vintage enlargers, 3 photo baths, Arduino, red lamp, video 6’; piece unique
Engineering: Alexey Grachev
Time is commonly thought of as a line (theoretically, a line of infinite length) where the present moment is located as a constantly moving point. Everything that is ahead of the current moment is the future, and everything that is behind it is the past. However, just as a line can be described as a sequence of points in various positions, any moving or changing object can also be thought of as a sequence of non-moving “snapshots” of itself.
In the project Life As Life. The Discreteness of Time (vintage photo enlarger, video), the artists seem to be observing the serene flow of life, while at the same time breaking the “arrow of time” by “manifesting” the uniqueness of each separate event. Life consists of repetitions, giving the illusion of different events combined into a single “stream”.
Photography Yury Goryanoy
Life as Life. STYX
Version of the project. Site-specific installation, 2021
At the “Chronotop” Contemporary Art Festival in Vyborg (RU)
Usually, Time is regarded as a line (theoretically, a line of endless length), on which the present moment is a point in constant motion. But this line may also be regarded as a succession of points in different positions, so that any moving or changing object may be interpreted as a number of motionless versions of “shots” of oneself. The artists observe the serene flow of life, but at the same time disrupt the “arrow of time”. Life consists of repetitions which seem to combine to form a single “river”. The video of people floating serenely along the river from one screen to another actually shows the same moment, which is multiplied and repeated, devoid of past and future, and joined into a cycle.
The exhibition is organized with the support of the Suomen Pietarin instituutti – The Finnish Institute in St. Petersburg, the AV-arkki Center of Finnish Media Art and CYLAND MediaArtLab.
Artist. Born in 1949 in Leningrad, USSR. Graduated from the Ilya Repin State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (Leningrad, USSR). Works in the fields of philosophy, psychology, painting, drawing, sculpture and installations. Professor of drawing at the Ilya Repin Institute. Recipient of Sergey Kuryokhin Award (Russia, 2012) as “Best Work of Visual Art” (together with Elena Gubanova). His works were exhibited at major Russian and foreign venues, including the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia), Russian Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia), Museum of Moscow (Moscow, Russia), Chelsea Art Museum (New York, USA), Kunstquartier Bethanien (Berlin, Germany), Sky Gallery 2 (Tokyo, Japan). Participant of the Manifesta 10 parallel program (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2014) and several exhibitions parallel to Venice Biennale (biannually since 2011). Since 1990, he has been working in collaboration with Elena Gubanova. Lives and works in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Elena Gubanova
Artist, curator. Born in 1960 in Ulyanovsk, USSR. Graduated from the Ilya Repin State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (Leningrad, USSR). Works in the fields of painting, sculpture, installations, and video. Recipient of Sergey Kuryokhin Award (Russia, 2012) as “Best Work of Visual Art” (together with Ivan Govorkov). Her works were exhibited at major Russian and foreign venues, including the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia), the Russian Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia), Museum of Moscow (Moscow, Russia), Chelsea Art Museum (New York, USA), Kunstquartier Bethanien (Berlin, Germany). Participant of the Manifesta 10 parallel program (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2014) and several exhibitions parallel to Venice Biennale (biannually since 2011). Since 1990, she has been working in collaboration with Ivan Govorkov. Lives and works in St. Petersburg, Russia.
www.elenagubanova.com