contemporary art exhibit project photography set design art-objects poetry
The project, consisting of photographic series and art objects, is based on my poem and a childhood photograph of me on a wooden horse at the age of two. The photographs illustrate the lines of the poem.
At its core, the project reflects on how the body is shaped and transformed by social roles and expectations. Fairy-tale narratives are transplanted into the urban landscape, where naivety confronts external gazes, roles, and the scenarios into which the body is drawn.
At its core, the project reflects on how the body is shaped and transformed by social roles and expectations. Fairy-tale narratives are transplanted into the urban landscape, where naivety confronts external gazes, roles, and the scenarios into which the body is drawn.
The Order of The Good Girl, 2025
Орден хорошей девочки*
Если собрать свои доспехи
и оседлать картонного коня?
Придумать сказку заново —
не для него, а для себя?
Тогда без ордена хорошей
девочки останусь я?
Придётся пробиваться
через тернистые леса,
на привязи держать дракона
и не впускать в себя слова
злодея-колдуна.
Чтоб, может,
в будущем —
когда-то —
не гнаться,
не сражаться,
не кричать,
и не пытаться заслужить медали.
Снести картонные дворцы,
чужие ожидания и мечты.
А в место боли — посадить цветы!
[25.02.2025]
*English translation on its way
Если собрать свои доспехи
и оседлать картонного коня?
Придумать сказку заново —
не для него, а для себя?
Тогда без ордена хорошей
девочки останусь я?
Придётся пробиваться
через тернистые леса,
на привязи держать дракона
и не впускать в себя слова
злодея-колдуна.
Чтоб, может,
в будущем —
когда-то —
не гнаться,
не сражаться,
не кричать,
и не пытаться заслужить медали.
Снести картонные дворцы,
чужие ожидания и мечты.
А в место боли — посадить цветы!
[25.02.2025]
*English translation on its way
The photographs are presented as medieval-style flags, printed on satin. The central image is mounted on a tournament lance and installed as a free-standing object in the space; the other flags are either hung on the walls or similarly shaped as banners. Art objects are scattered across the floor, as if someone took them off and left through an open door. At the entrance, a wooden shield holds an explanatory text — a poem that introduces the Order.
Exhibition Design:
Six soft sculptures were created for the project — fragments of my own body transformed into wearable accessories. These objects are worn over clothes to evoke discomfort, pressure, and the feeling of being watched — the embodied experience of objectification, unwanted comments, and intrusive gazes.
To recreate the fairy-tale setting, paper decorations were made: simple and bright, like illustrations from childhood books. The kind of stories that promise safety and magic — until you grow up and realize your castle is made of paper, and it easily falls apart.
To recreate the fairy-tale setting, paper decorations were made: simple and bright, like illustrations from childhood books. The kind of stories that promise safety and magic — until you grow up and realize your castle is made of paper, and it easily falls apart.
Behind the Work:
*Special thanks and all my love to the great builder of the wooden horse 1.0, the fearless tamer of the cardboard horse 2.0, my lifelong supporter, inspirer, collaborator, and the best first photo assistant I could ask for: my mom, Vera Yanson.