Curator's appeal
Our lives are changing. We get rid of the old in this process to make room for new acquisitions and new experiences. Changes can be conscious or not, joyful or not, voluntary or not. It doesn't matter. Breaking up is just as difficult as joining something unusual. Let's walk this path together: let's cry about the past, look into the future with inspiration and check how much we can let go in this world where nothing lasts forever.
About the exhibition
Instant exhibition of émigré art
On December 24, 2022, on the eve of Catholic Christmas, there was RUBEZH*, the first Instant exhibition of emigrant art. It lasted one evening, ending at exactly midnight with a performance in which all the guests took part.
The format of the pop-up exhibition was not chosen by chance: the organizers emphasized the theme of the transience of time, the painfulness of parting with the past and fear of the future. The authors-artists tried to find the line after which everything is divided into “before” and “after”. The guests were invited to learn how to appreciate the present and let it go.
The format of the pop-up exhibition was not chosen by chance: the organizers emphasized the theme of the transience of time, the painfulness of parting with the past and fear of the future. The authors-artists tried to find the line after which everything is divided into “before” and “after”. The guests were invited to learn how to appreciate the present and let it go.
The exhibition featured 31 works by 27 authors from 5 countries: Kazakhstan, Georgia, Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. 24 participants were selected by the commission in the open call format on a competitive basis. The presence of emigrant experience is the main condition for participation in the competition.
The organizers did not limit themselves to any one form of art. The exhibition featured installations, photographs, paintings, performances, performances by DJs and electronic musicians, and video art.
It was possible to get to the exhibition only after registration. Since the venue is the organizers' house, the exact address of the meeting was not publicly advertised, but was reported only in invitations.
* RUBEZH — transliteration of the Russian word РУБЕЖ in Latin. It means both a physical boundary and a mental milestone.
The organizers did not limit themselves to any one form of art. The exhibition featured installations, photographs, paintings, performances, performances by DJs and electronic musicians, and video art.
It was possible to get to the exhibition only after registration. Since the venue is the organizers' house, the exact address of the meeting was not publicly advertised, but was reported only in invitations.
* RUBEZH — transliteration of the Russian word РУБЕЖ in Latin. It means both a physical boundary and a mental milestone.
Jury
- Alsu GarapovaCurator
- Valentin FedorovExpert
- Ivan KalinichevExpert
- Kirill HwanExpert
Alsu Garapova, curator:
I've been through too many losses over the last year and a half. This is the death of loved ones, the loss of a loved one, a temporary but significant loss of health, separation from best friends, divorce, and the main pain is war. In September, I realized that it was simply impossible to experience all this alone, and the very idea of bringing together people, who had experienced a similar experience, became an obsession.
The best format for this, as it seemed to me, is an exhibition. I wanted artists to share their experiences and thereby help others cope with similar difficulties.
I doubted if I could hold an exhibition. I am nobody in the art world, I have no specialized education, no experience. But in November, the desire became so strong that I stopped being confused by fears. "But you have experience in organizing everything," I reassured myself and finally began to prepare. A month and a half before the exhibition. Such crazy deadlines were a necessary measure, since it was important to hold the exhibition on December 24, on Christmas Eve, not far from the date of the winter solstice. This number reflected the boundary theme as fully as possible.
I was shocked. Yesterday I just wanted to hold an exhibition at home, and today I already have a team of more than twenty people and a lot of applications from artists from different countries.
The exhibition turned out to be bigger than I expected. Unregistered guests somehow found out the address of our сoliving and we allowed them to enter for money, although initially the entrance was free. As a result, we received about 250 people in the evening. The guests did not want to leave even after we turned off the lights on the playground, despite the cold, late hours and many other hangouts in the city where we could continue to have fun.
As a result, I am inspired to continue the launched annual cycle of RUBEZH exhibitions. Wait for the sequel!
The best format for this, as it seemed to me, is an exhibition. I wanted artists to share their experiences and thereby help others cope with similar difficulties.
I doubted if I could hold an exhibition. I am nobody in the art world, I have no specialized education, no experience. But in November, the desire became so strong that I stopped being confused by fears. "But you have experience in organizing everything," I reassured myself and finally began to prepare. A month and a half before the exhibition. Such crazy deadlines were a necessary measure, since it was important to hold the exhibition on December 24, on Christmas Eve, not far from the date of the winter solstice. This number reflected the boundary theme as fully as possible.
I was shocked. Yesterday I just wanted to hold an exhibition at home, and today I already have a team of more than twenty people and a lot of applications from artists from different countries.
The exhibition turned out to be bigger than I expected. Unregistered guests somehow found out the address of our сoliving and we allowed them to enter for money, although initially the entrance was free. As a result, we received about 250 people in the evening. The guests did not want to leave even after we turned off the lights on the playground, despite the cold, late hours and many other hangouts in the city where we could continue to have fun.
As a result, I am inspired to continue the launched annual cycle of RUBEZH exhibitions. Wait for the sequel!
Map
Video art
Untitled
Katya Digas
2022
2022
The atmosphere of fluctuation, the unconsciousness of the history of the state introduced by citizens, the inexorable passage of time and the non-setting of boundaries. And you carry all this in your hand luggage, forgetting that “A foreign land is as akin to the homeland as space is akin to a dead end”.
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Dreams of a Homeless Daughter
Valeria Lemeshevskaya
2021
2021
I immersed myself in the pleasure of colliding fragments of an old family chronicle, my travel video interviews and random fragments caught by the camera. I didn't have a clear editing plan, just the sensations after dreams and memories. And gradually the elements of reality began to unite in groups, to repeat. An internal system of interconnections was born.
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Heavy fell the stony word
Georgy L. and Anna B.
2022
2022
A project created in conditions of forced emigration. The project is about sacrifice and farewell, about the need to let go of material attachments in the name of a greater idea, about the bitterness of the current situation.
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Ay-bu-ben
Amalia Prtavyan
2022
2022
After moving from Armenia in the 90s, my family tried “not to speak Armenian, not to stand out, to integrate”. As a result, I do not know my native language. 25 years after moving to Russia, I am making an attempt to regain my identity and study the language on my own.
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Electronic musicians
Location No. 17
- 17:00 — 18:45
ZhrivodkinWhat does the city sound like? Long before the silence of quarantine became this sound, we asked this question. We sought out and built parallel worlds in our city, reflecting on the nature of the visible and existing. The result of our search was the sound installation "Interpreting a City", which a few years later becomes a nostalgic testimony about the city three lives ago.
Read more - 19:30 — 21:00
Mi CroevkhasThe author's musical set, from ambient to future dancehall, is both mobile and experimental. It is played on a Roland 404SP-SX sampler and a Sony Walkman cassette player (WM-EX610). It combines compositions, samples and loops recorded in Moscow, Elektrostal and Bishkek (and maybe somewhere else), which allows you to trace the history of movements, personal evolution and degradation. Or not.
Read more - 21:45 — 23:15
Operenie ZheltogoCombining live mixing of rare audio cassettes with the original sound of synthesizers and recordings of political speeches, I achieve the creation of a special atmosphere that weaves nostalgia, dreams of the future and fear of the present. Free jazz flows into ambient, and the voices of politicians become birdsong. Club beat turns into industrial noise, as if there is a hangover after a holiday. Just as yesterday we lived in a world of harmony, today we are fighting for the right to call a spade a spade.
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DJs
Location No. 9
- 17:30 — 19:00
pargelikaA tracklist that will smoothly guide you through anger, fear, pain, sadness and mourning to bright hope and openness to new things. A torn heart will blossom into a flower.
Read more - 19:00 — 21:00
Rahim aka bdrhm + Sofya GatosThe author presented at the exhibition a freshly written material based on the experiences of the last three months. Anxiety, paranoia, and fear resonate with humility, acceptance, and inspiration.
Read more - 21:00 — 23:00
Yak0!A set is inspired by the harsh and surreal Bishkek winter with its dry frost, mesmerizing and repulsive smog and the chaos taking place in the outside world. It was interesting, but in all sorts of ways.
Read more