Pop-Aganda: Revolution & Iconography
This is the 4th iteration of curator Tavia La Follette's Sites of Passage series - a global exchange of ideas featuring eight social practice-oriented Russia and US-based artists.
"Under the table," Veronika Rudyeva-Ryazantseva, 2022
Under the table is a reflection on the inner and outer, about man and power, about the fact that history is always happening, constantly, and we are also participants and observers of what is happening.
Under the table (2022) by Veronika Rudyeva-RyazantsevaMattress Factory
In this installation, you can climb the steps and take a seat at the table. Depending on which chair you find yourself in, the point of view also depends on it. Inside there is a video patchwork carefully sewn from pieces of childhood memories.
"Instability, Scattering, Wandering..." Lera Lerner, 2022
In this utopian project, Lerner critically rethinks the possibility of connecting to the experience of the other and empathizing with otherness. A video projection presents a body with a tumor, reflected outside of common human ethics and mythology.
Instability, Scattering, Wandering, Success (2022) by Lera LernerMattress Factory
The fragmented body of the neoplasm overcomes barriers, loves and denies itself and others, wanders around, forgetting its profession. It frequently and with pleasure divides, goes through dangerous palpation, questions the possibility of contact with the experience of the other.
"I come from a holy place," Bekezela Mguni, 2022
Mguni uses text, found objects, flowers, video, and print media to carve out space for Black presence and to offer affirmation in a world that continues its violent attempts to erase, devalue, and disappear Black people.
I come from a holy place (2022) by Bekezela MguniMattress Factory
The warm color of gomphrena fills the room as you are invited into a space of reflection. Found and collaged tin, surrounding images of the artist held in tenderness by her mother and father reflecting softness, reverence, and connection.
"Credible, Small Secrets," Sonya Kelliher-Combs, 2022
Credible is a series addressing the overwhelming abuse of the Catholic Church in the State of Alaska. The installation represents the 35 villages that have credible claims of abuse by the hand of those sent to save them.
Credible, Small Secrets (2022) by Sonya Kelliher-CombsMattress Factory
Research was done to compile lists of “all known individuals, including priests, religious, lay employees and volunteers against whom a complaint of sexual abuse has been filed by one or more individuals” and against whom the abuse has been proven, admitted or “credibly accused.”
"The Artist's Uniform," Untitled, 2022
For their safety, the artist has redacted their name and will be referred to as “Untitled.” The Artist’s Uniform is professional work clothing, an identifying mark of the art community and a tribute to early Soviet avant-garde artists such as Stepanova, Popova and Rodchenko.
The Artist's Uniform (2022) by UntitledMattress Factory
Untitled viewed the Mattress Factory show as a long-awaited opportunity to connect with artists from both Russia and the United States. Due to current circumstances, however, this exchange was frozen, and the resulting fabrics were sewn together.
"Ice Cream Station Zebra & Other Works," Emily Newman, 2022
The four films on view chronicle Emily Newman’s experience raising a child in Russia, just as 21st century Russians were struggling to process their volatile national story into child-size spoonfuls.
Ice Cream Station Zebra and Other Works (2022) by Emily NewmanMattress Factory
With their help and participation, Newman sought to show how Russian parents and grandparents explained Communism and the Cold War to children. In light of Vladimir Putin’s brutal effort to rewrite/rebrand Russian history, her project was anything but an exercise in nostalgia.
"PERFORMANCE FOR RELATIVES," Syanda Yaptik, 2022
In order to communicate with relatives through performative practices, Yaptik wrote down stories that are especially memorable and, on their basis, made instructions with actions to both share these experiences and turn them into something new.
PERFORMANCE FOR RELATIVES (2022) by Syanda YaptikMattress Factory
The artist is inspired by memories of family, often building performative actions that are somatic, producing a moving symbol of these stories/memories — to help express the connection she feels to family.
"GAZ COFFEE build #1," Liz Cohen, 2022
GAZ COFFEE build #1 turns the café patio into a platform for discussions on imperialism, labor, ideology, trade, and geopolitics. A Soviet 1969 GAZ 69A serves tropicalized Russian espresso drinks in a nod to a Cold War era trade deal between the Soviet and Colombian governments.
GAZ COFFEE build #1 (2022) by Liz CohenMattress Factory
The Cold War era was marked with several coffee shortages for the Soviets and the Eastern Bloc. One of those shortages prompted the GAZ for a coffee deal at the end of the 1960s. On specified dates during the exhibition, GAZ COFFEE build #1 will be activated to serve coffee.
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