“Manege. Datafield”, 2020
curator Sveta Usolceva
For the NEMOSKVA project
The Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Saint-Petersburg
In the information-based world we have to navigate, relying on pre-developed patterns. The exhibition space is intrinsically overloaded with information, and is organized around the principle of drawing our attention to certain pieces of art, topics and meanings. But in the same space as this curated information layer we also have the space itself, with its own set of characteristics: its architecture, surfaces, details and textures. The visitor always has the freedom to choose which layer of information to give preference to.
The installation itself is a tall stack of notebooks with a route through space. Each visitor can take a brochure and follow the instructions to walk through the spaces indicated in the notebook. At each point of interest, the artist focuses on a specific detail. The phenomenon of physical reality is investigated with the help of numerical values taking form of charts and drawings. Moving away from a predictable logic, we find ourselves in a new information field.