Patchwork

Russia’s state structure and ideology have changed dramatically twice in just a century. Following the revolution in the beginning of the 20th century, the Bolsheviks seized power. Their policy was aimed at homogenization of different cultures on the territory of the USSR, praising unity of the peoples and proposing monoculturalism. But at the end of the century, this whole attempt collapsed and former ideology has been replaced by a breach, which the current government is trying to fill using twisted clichés and slogans, imposing its militaristic imperialist views on people.

Along with millions of others in my country, I am frustrated by not being able to clearly define national and cultural identity.

Trying to find the answer to this disturbing question, I turned to mythology, which, I believe, through archetypes might lead to the roots of this identity. By creating a collective myth, I try to explore this topic on a more allegorical, mythological level.

Traveling around the country, I look for people and stories of people. I see them as fragments of a single whole, that represent parts of a larger elusive image.