Francis Alÿs, Lada Kopeika, Manifesta 10
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Rusia, 2014
Court-Yard, Winter Palace
Growing up in a rather bourgoise environment in Belgium, Francis and his brother have some revolutionary tendencies and own a Lada Kopeika, in which they want to travel to the heart of Comunism. Shortly after passing the first national border of their trip the car brakes down.
When Kasper König invites Francis Alys to ST Petersburg, the artist decides to reconnect to that plan, only that the voyage had to end crushing the car into a tree - in the courtyard of the old symbol of power, which had survived all political and temporary adverceries - in the inner garden of the hermitage.
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Francis Alÿs, Lada Kopeika, chicken shooting,
court-yard winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2014
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A leave-green lada Kopeika is found in Germany, as much as a plurilingual St. Petersburg born art-student, Konstantin Felker, eager to get involved in the project.
Konstantin is provided with the necessary resources, gets the car ready for the trip, drives it to Belgium to pick up the artist, his brother Frédéric and the camera man Julien Devaux, and accompanies them on their trip to St. Petersburg as guide and translator.
Konstantin is provided with the necessary resources, gets the car ready for the trip, drives it to Belgium to pick up the artist, his brother Frédéric and the camera man Julien Devaux, and accompanies them on their trip to St. Petersburg as guide and translator.
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| F.Alÿs & crew, just arrived from Belgium meeting the M10 production team, St. Petersburg, april 2014 |
While hermitage´s director Mr. Piotrovsky after long considerations acceeds to support the project, most further authorities oppose, including the deputy director, apparently still dreaming of the return of the empire.
To prepare the crash essential statical elements of the car are being weakened/ removed by a mecanic, the crash-target, an ancient tree, is being protected by layers of hard foam, rubber and wood.
As the day the crash and film shooting had to happen, the director is out of the house, and authorities momentarily in charge try to prevent the crucial element of the project to happen (in vain) part of the team ends up being denounced, hermitage credencials are disarticulated and vivid discussions about M10´s sudden death are being held.
However - that day M10´s probably most emblematic work is generated.
To prepare the crash essential statical elements of the car are being weakened/ removed by a mecanic, the crash-target, an ancient tree, is being protected by layers of hard foam, rubber and wood.
As the day the crash and film shooting had to happen, the director is out of the house, and authorities momentarily in charge try to prevent the crucial element of the project to happen (in vain) part of the team ends up being denounced, hermitage credencials are disarticulated and vivid discussions about M10´s sudden death are being held.
However - that day M10´s probably most emblematic work is generated.
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| court-yard Hermitage Winter Palace, just about to crash, Screenshot Francis Alÿs, Lada Kopeika movie |
Due to the hostility we remove the car after the crash. A save place is found in a St. Petersburg back-yard to store the vehicle until shortly before the M10 opening.
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| save-guarding Lada Kopeika until final installation, St. Petersburg, april 2014 |
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| picking plants for the Winter Palace |
Herbs and wheats are supposed to grow `wild´ around the crashed car - another element of the work which does not meet upon general comprehension and approval amongst Hermitage Staff.
Wild plants are gathered and transplanted, and anonymously eliminated or destroyed plants are replaced times on a regular base.
Wild plants are gathered and transplanted, and anonymously eliminated or destroyed plants are replaced times on a regular base.
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Lada Kopeika, chicken shooting, court-yard State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2014
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Originally Francis Alÿs thought the car to be left behind, windshield wipers still on, radio still playing, and chicken converting the crashed car into their habitat... Due to a denial by the Hermitage the continuous presence of the poultry their presence in the palace garden was limited to a momentary appearance.
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| Francis Alÿs, Lada Kopeika project space, General Staff Building, Hermitage, St Petersburg, 2014, photos:Igor Rogalev |
While the crashed car itself remains in the court-yard of the Winter Palace, the project is entirely represented in a dual space in the Hermitage, General Staff Building.
Related documents and drawings are displayed in custom made vitrine tables, a monitor shows pictures from the trip, while the film is presented in the darkened back-space.
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| Francis Alÿs, Lada Kopeika projection space, General Staff Building, Hermitage, St Petersburg, 2014, photo: Igor Rogalev |
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State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Rusia, 2014
Lara Favaretto produces a series of concrete objects contrasting the classic sculptures on display within the famous Apollo Hall.
Although the project is approved by the hermitage direction the correspondent department made all thinkable efforts to avoid it´s presentation, so arduous disputes for each centimetre of space had to be fought and won, driving artist and team members to the limits of nervous break-downs.
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Lara Favaretto, Kicking (& other), Manifesta 10, Apollo Hall, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2014
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Tatzu Nishi, So I only want to love Yours
Hermitage/ Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, 2014
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| proposal Tatzu Nishi, digital drawing by malinche.eu, intervened by Tatzu Nishi, 2014 |
Applying his habitual strategy, converting an extraordinary (often public) object into a `decorative´ element of an interior, Nishi´s proposal is to build a typical Russian land-house around a chandelier of the Winter Palace.
Although the idea in general gains the director´s sympathy, numerous proposals for extraordinary halls and chandeliers are rejected by the hermitage curators, responsable for the specific spaces.
Finally a space is designated, counting on - for the Winter Palace - rather modest chandeliers, however situated right next to the anchestral portrait gallery of the Romanow rulers.
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| Tatzu Nishi, So I only want to love Yours, under construction, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 2014 |
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| elements from an original Dacha for Tatzu Nishi´s So I only want to love Yours, St. Petersburg, 2014 |
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| Tatzu Nishi, So I only want to love Yours, under construction, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 2014 |
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| Tatzu Nishi, So I only want to love Yours, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 2014, photo: I.Rogalev |
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| Tatzu Nishi, So I only want to love Yours, Manifesta 10, Winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2014. photo: Igor Rogalev |
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We are working on this. More info soon!
Yasumasa Morimura
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Yasumasa Morimura, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 2014, photo: Igor Rogalev
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Jordi Colomer, No? Future! Что делать?
Manifesta 10, St Petersburg, 2014
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| Jordi Colomer and collaborators, No?Future!, St Petersburg 2014 |
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Jordi Colomer, No?Future!, on the road, St Petersburg 2014
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| Jordi Colomer, No? Future!, road-map and movie, Hermitage/ General Staff Building, St Petersburg, 2014 |
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Thomas Hirschhorn, Abschlag
Manifesta 10, General Staff Building, St Petersburg, Rusia, 2014
At his first visit to the GSB, just before it´s renovation is complete, Thomas Hirschhorn remarks, that something locks wrong. The place is being left in a state which seems to negate the past, as if history and fate never happened here.
Abschlag pretends to reflect on that lost or hidden past and critically exams the façade of what is ment to reflect the post-empire and post-communist Russian self-comprehension.
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Thomas Hirschhorn fine-tuning Abschlag , Manifesta 10, General Staff Building, St Petersburg, Rusia, 2014
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| Thomas Hirschhorn , Abschlag , Manifesta 10, General Staff Building, St Petersburg, Rusia, 2014 |
The installation resembles a building falling apart after a mayor impact caused by an earth-quake or maybe an assault during war (?).
Wide scattered ruins fill the surrounding areas, in the upper part the façade is ripped open allowing the view into 6 small, fully equipped rooms, from wall-paper to furniture all held in soviet-time aesthetics.
Each room counts on an original painting from the early post revolution time, the artists wish list: Malevich, Gonchavora, Popova etc.
The probably most difficult task, next to raising a mayor budget, is to obtain the permissions to install the work in the GSB. The local authorities feel uncomfortable with the idea of this picture of massive chaos in their newly refurbish emperial halls. As manifestas counts on `curatorial independence´ projects like Abschlag are tried to be stopped alleging technical reasons.
An ultra-light scaffolding structure is specifically produced and imported from Estonia, all materials are treated for fire resistance etc.
An ultra-light scaffolding structure is specifically produced and imported from Estonia, all materials are treated for fire resistance etc.
The constructivist paintings, most of them in possession of St Petersburg´s Russian Museum, which showed itself quite willing to lend them for the purpose, for the Hermitage, due to long lasting rivalties was a mayor thorn in their side, and authorities tried in numerous ways to avoid those paintings entering the hermitage sphere with credits to the Russian Museum, however underestimating the artist´s, curator´s and production teams´ tenacity.
Once the work was in place and the exhibition ongoing, struggles did still not come to an end. On a daily basis hermitage stuff, offended by the inherent `chaotic aspect´ of the work would proceed to `clean up the space´, alegging `but this is a Museum!´ while manifesta team, hermitage internal (ex military) security forces on the heals to avoid `the forbidden´ would follow to rearranging elements back to their expansive and chaotic resemblance.
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Erik van Lieshout, The Basement,
Manifesta 10, Hermitage/ General Staff Building, St Petersburg, 2014
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Erik van Lieshout, The Basement, under construction/ the artist @ work
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| Erik van Lieshout, The Basement, Hermitage/ General Staff Building, St. Petersburg, 2014 |
Censorship does officially not exist in Russia. However, critical work are easily tagged 18+, means no minors are admitted near and they must be shown in separated spaces. In the case of Manifesta, which was contractually granted curatorial freedom and independence, with it´s strong emphasis on the education program, works tagged 18+ would mean a mayor loss for the program. The issue is discussed with all artists on beforehand: 18+ is acceptable if indispensable for the work, but ideally ways of expression to get around censorship are found to make the works accesible for a brought public.
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actions of `Self-censorship´ , Erik van Lieshout, The Basement, Hermitage/ GSB, St. Petersburg, 2014
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In relation to Erik´s work, an 18+ would generate a blockade in a passage highly important for the visitors flow and exhibition dynamic. Together with the artist we decide for a self-censorship action ( realised by malinche.eu) which does not lack humor and generates loud out-spoken protest; however we manage to keep the work open until the end of M10.
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Dominique Gonzalez-Förster
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Otto Zitko
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| Otto Zitko & Kasper König, contemplating Zitko´s work in progress, GSB, St. Petersburg, may 2014 |
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Wolfgang Tillmanns
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Boris Michaelov
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Olivier Mosset, New Paintings
Manifesta 10, Hermitage/ General Staff Building, St Petersburg, 2014
When invited first, Olivier Mossed considered his participation under the condition that the members of Pussy Riot, jailed after their polemic guerilla Punk Prayer, were freed by the time of the M10 opening, and we discussed that a passive boicot wouldn't contribute anything to the imprissioned artist´s cause.
On the first sight the 5 large format monochromes don´t look as anything new within Mosset´s oeuvre, the colours of the paintings however match the balaclava worn during the performance in Moscow´s Khrista Spasitelya cathedral.
We are working on this. Please return for more info!