Matter matters, solo show with support of Syntax gallery

21.03.23 - 27.03.24 Material, Zurich

Matter Matters is a short overview at the forest (French) period of the artist’s work, marking a pivotal shift since 2019 when he relocated to another country. The move imbued the materiality of existence with newfound significance, leading to a stage in the artist’s career characterised by economical solutions in creating works utilising both organic and inorganic waste of human from human activity.

The artist's systematic exploration of the changes in materials delves into the themes of time's subjectivity and ruthlessness. At the same time, the choice of materials is significant, each decision containing an undercurrent of resistance and a touch of irony.
In this artistic narrative, the obsolete and the dead imitate the vibrant and the living. The natural absorbs the anthropogenic, and vice versa, weaving together cultural strata from different eras into a bizarre palimpsestic tapestry. This layering doesn't signify the end of old artefacts; rather, it showcases a cycle where any waste may be given a new life, where the mass produced is distilled into the classical, and creation and destruction go hand in hand in a dynamic equilibrium.
Yet, this spectacle of decay, disembodiment, transformation, and echoes of different cultures is not at all infected with the sombre moralising typical of medieval memento mori. Rather, it is a spirited punk rendition of the ancient adage ‘letum non omnia finit’ (‘death doesn't end it all’), a deft juggling of timeless quotes through the use of sustainable upcycling practices.

Elvira Tarnogradskaya