Art Residency
Organizers and partners of the project: Goethe-Institut in Russia, French Institute in Russia, Museum of Nonconformist Art, Consulate General of Norway in St. Petersburg.
The work “It’s Them!” was created in the virtual art residence of the EcoArt project, which brings together curators, scientists and contemporary artists exploring the relationship between humans and non-human agents.
Walking-wandering
For almost two years I’ve been exploring the phenomenon of reclamation in the Vasileostrovsky district of St. Petersburg: I walk-wander, look, listen, remember, sketch, write down, photograph, jump over, bend over, collect... and even row with an oar. I turn something into comics, transform something into objects and audio tracks.
As part of the EcoArt project, I reflect on reclaimed lands not only as a city dweller, but also from the point of view of underwater inhabitants.
As part of the EcoArt project, I reflect on reclaimed lands not only as a city dweller, but also from the point of view of underwater inhabitants.
Human and non-human agents
The connecting (and at the same time destructive) link between human and non-human agents, as well as the main ACTOR, is sand. In the story of alluvium, it gets into a rather awkward position, because it is a non-human agent by "birthright", but is subordinate to the human agent, and therefore acts on its behalf.
Sand for reclamation is extracted several hundred meters from the shore. A cocktail of sand and water is sucked in by a special floating machine called a dredger and delivered to near the shore, after which it is sent through pipes to the land. During hydraulic engineering works, sand suspension rises in the water, sunlight stops penetrating through the water column and, speaking scientifically, reversible structural and functional changes occur in the communities of aquatic organisms (plankton, benthos). Turbidity of water can prevent the reproduction of crustacean and mollusc larvae. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in the food supply for larger living organisms.
Sand for reclamation is extracted several hundred meters from the shore. A cocktail of sand and water is sucked in by a special floating machine called a dredger and delivered to near the shore, after which it is sent through pipes to the land. During hydraulic engineering works, sand suspension rises in the water, sunlight stops penetrating through the water column and, speaking scientifically, reversible structural and functional changes occur in the communities of aquatic organisms (plankton, benthos). Turbidity of water can prevent the reproduction of crustacean and mollusc larvae. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in the food supply for larger living organisms.
Local theory of evolution
Imagine that the power goes out in your area for a long time: Wi-Fi is gone, some work stops, refrigerators are indignant. The inhabitants of the underwater world experience the same inconveniences. How does their daily life change? During the research, I was able to establish that some species rebel and go against the ecosystem: some leave these places, others move to land. Just imagine! Not long ago, in the place of new residential areas there was a seabed completely covered with water. The inhabitants of the underwater world adapted to the changed conditions, quickly evolved and now live among us.
It's them!
How to recognize former inhabitants of the underwater world:
1. They swim perfectly. The best swimmers in the pools of Vasilievsky Island are them!
2. In restaurants and cafes, they always order seafood dishes. And for dessert, they order corn kernels.
3. They sweep seaweed off the shelves of local supermarkets. If someone in front of you at the checkout takes 10 packs of nori, you can be sure it's them!
4. It is almost impossible to get through to them by phone, because they are almost always out of network coverage area.
5. They are also taciturn. If your interlocutor is silent as a fish, he is one of them! Some do speak, but very evasively.
6. They love to blow soap bubbles.
7. They swim in the Gulf of Finland. They are drawn to plunge into their native waters.
8. Despite the common stereotype, they have a good memory and a sharp mind. They enter higher education institutions and study unnoticed among other students. But if you find that some of your classmates don’t close their “tails” during the session, do not even doubt their origin! “Tails” do not cause any discomfort to former fishes at all.
9. They are afraid of social networks.
10. They love to shine! They were the ones who introduced the fashion for scaly dresses with sequins a few years ago.
11. Have you ever seen fashionistas in sneakers with light bulbs? And cyclists with lightmusic on their spokes? It’s them too! - The genetic predisposition of plankton to glow in the dark makes itself known.
12. They take photos exclusively with wide-angle lenses.
1. They swim perfectly. The best swimmers in the pools of Vasilievsky Island are them!
2. In restaurants and cafes, they always order seafood dishes. And for dessert, they order corn kernels.
3. They sweep seaweed off the shelves of local supermarkets. If someone in front of you at the checkout takes 10 packs of nori, you can be sure it's them!
4. It is almost impossible to get through to them by phone, because they are almost always out of network coverage area.
5. They are also taciturn. If your interlocutor is silent as a fish, he is one of them! Some do speak, but very evasively.
6. They love to blow soap bubbles.
7. They swim in the Gulf of Finland. They are drawn to plunge into their native waters.
8. Despite the common stereotype, they have a good memory and a sharp mind. They enter higher education institutions and study unnoticed among other students. But if you find that some of your classmates don’t close their “tails” during the session, do not even doubt their origin! “Tails” do not cause any discomfort to former fishes at all.
9. They are afraid of social networks.
10. They love to shine! They were the ones who introduced the fashion for scaly dresses with sequins a few years ago.
11. Have you ever seen fashionistas in sneakers with light bulbs? And cyclists with lightmusic on their spokes? It’s them too! - The genetic predisposition of plankton to glow in the dark makes itself known.
12. They take photos exclusively with wide-angle lenses.
Sandblasting machine art
I captured THEM using a technology similar to the one that "created" them, using a small sandblaster as a metaphor for a giant dredger: portraits of creatures that emerged from the "sand anomaly", #bornbysand.
© Julia Chaicyna