Danila Tkachenko, Rusia 1989

Since 1917 Russia’s rural population has contracted by more than 80%. The collectivisation of 1928-1937 was the first stage in the destruction of Russian villages. It was implemented to eradicate the historically established social order, and also to forcibly seize property and food from the peasant class for the state. Between 7 million and 8 million people died as a result of hunger and political repression, while over 2 million peasants were sent to the Gulag. By 1979 the number of villages had contracted by 60.2% (to 177,100). As a consequence of the centralisation and resettlement of the population, the logistics of harvests were disrupted, resulting in enormous losses in the agricultural sector, followed by rapid growth in food imports and an increase in social and political tension in the USSR. In modern Russia the trend of a contraction in the number of rural villages has continued. Over the past 20 years 23,000 villages have disappeared from the map of Russia, while small farmers are unable to compete with major corporations. According to the forecasts of some demographers, 96% of rural dwellers will live in cities by 2025. In other words, the rural population will disappear almost entirely. The project was filmed in territories located far from population centres and woodland. All manner of precautions were taken to prevent the spread of fire. The debris from constructed decorations were dismantled and taken away, while the used decrepit nonfunctional and destroyed structures were doomed to complete the process of physical disappearance within several years.

The project Monuments (2017) researches the boundaries of historical memory, the area between fact and fiction. As in the case of political regimes in general, every single one of us is individually inclined to exploit images of the past to meet our current needs or future goals. We come up with new interpretations and build additional structures to manipulate images of past history. I erect on abandoned historical sites lightweight structures in abstract modernist shapes, transforming a historical ruin into a contemporary site and thereby imitating the position on history assumed by the powers that be. During the filming not a single site suffered. At the end of the work, all the decorations were dismantled.

The project Monuments (2017) researches the boundaries of historical memory, the area between fact and fiction. As in the case of political regimes in general, every single one of us is individually inclined to exploit images of the past to meet our current needs or future goals. We come up with new interpretations and build additional structures to manipulate images of past history. I erect on abandoned historical sites lightweight structures in abstract modernist shapes, transforming a historical ruin into a contemporary site and thereby imitating the position on history assumed by the powers that be. During the filming not a single site suffered. At the end of the work, all the decorations were dismantled.

Lost Horizon (2016). The world promised by the October Revolution had to be not only fair and prosperous, but to also colonise the outer space. Socialism should have been established not only in space, but also in time, aided by technology which would allow to turn time into eternity. But over time, the economical failures had also brought disillusionment about the political utopia and about the promised bright future. In Lost Horizon, Tkachenko shot objects, which represent the image of the ideal cosmic future. He chose the format 6×6, encapsulating the utopian state projects into the Suprematist form of his fellow compatriot artist founder of the Russian Avant-Gard Kasimir Malevich’s ‘The Black Square’ from 1917, which being a revolutionary art piece, reflects the historical epoch it was conceived in.

Lost Horizon (2016). The world promised by the October Revolution had to be not only fair and prosperous, but to also colonise the outer space. Socialism should have been established not only in space, but also in time, aided by technology which would allow to turn time into eternity. But over time, the economical failures had also brought disillusionment about the political utopia and about the promised bright future. In Lost Horizon, Tkachenko shot objects, which represent the image of the ideal cosmic future. He chose the format 6×6, encapsulating the utopian state projects into the Suprematist form of his fellow compatriot artist founder of the Russian Avant-Gard Kasimir Malevich’s ‘The Black Square’ from 1917, which being a revolutionary art piece, reflects the historical epoch it was conceived in.

Restricted Areas (2015) is a series about the utopian strive of humans for technological progress. Better, higher, stronger… Always trying to own ever more this human desire is the source of technical progress including commodities and grandeur as well as the tools of violence that keep power over the other. “I travel in search of places which used to have great importance for the technical progress and are now deserted. Those places lost their significance together with its utopian ideology which is now obsolete. Secret cities that could not be found on maps, forgotten scientific triumphs and abandoned buildings of almost inhuman complexity. The perfect technocratic imagery of a future that never came.” For Restricted Areas, Tkachenko traveled the former countries part of the former USSR, in search of places that used to hold great importance for the idea of technological progress. These places are now deserted. They have lost their significance, along with their utopian ideology, which is now obsolete. “Any progress comes to an end sooner or later. It can happen due to different reasons: nuclear war, economic crisis or natural disasters. For me it is interesting to witness what is left after.”

The Last Resident (2014) is a study, referring to space exploration utopias and its social background narrating the phenomena of disappearing villages. In Russia, like in other countries, there are hundreds, even thousands of villages and small towns dying off. From 1993 to 2004, 23000 villages and towns were officially closed, while the population of cities is constantly growing. The project’s aesthetics was inspired by painting where light is used to illuminate the nocturnal scenery, such as by Russian landscape painter of Greek descent, Arkhip Kuindzhi.

The Last Resident (2014) is a study, referring to space exploration utopias and its social background narrating the phenomena of disappearing villages. In Russia, like in other countries, there are hundreds, even thousands of villages and small towns dying off. From 1993 to 2004, 23000 villages and towns were officially closed, while the population of cities is constantly growing. The project’s aesthetics was inspired by painting where light is used to illuminate the nocturnal scenery, such as by Russian landscape painter of Greek descent, Arkhip Kuindzhi.

The Last Resident (2014) is a study, referring to space exploration utopias and its social background narrating the phenomena of disappearing villages. In Russia, like in other countries, there are hundreds, even thousands of villages and small towns dying off. From 1993 to 2004, 23000 villages and towns were officially closed, while the population of cities is constantly growing. The project’s aesthetics was inspired by painting where light is used to illuminate the nocturnal scenery, such as by Russian landscape painter of Greek descent, Arkhip Kuindzhi.