Spectator Theatre is a series of interactive objects representing different configurations of theatrical auditoriums-types of theatre, in each of which the spectator becomes the main meaning-making and acting person. The artistic project polemises the idea of hierarchy as the best idea for the structure of society, offering to empirically live, try, "rehearse" the experience of diversity, horizontalisation and freedom of choice. For this purpose, the model of theatre is very organic, offering a playful space-laboratory, where the rigidly regulated norm of behaviour is expanded and the spectator gets an opportunity to do something not quite ordinary, to play a role, to be a creator.
The objects interact with the viewer tactilely and verbally, not imposing, but offering the viewer the roles of a modern Hamlet, reflecting on his time, a free person, independently deciding to take part in the proposed action, a creator, creating and realising his own artistic world. The seriality of the objects suggests a structure of travelling, comparing, discovering. The location and arrangement of each object separately creates opportunities for building an individual plot of interaction with it. In parallel, the project tells about contemporary theatre, its diversity, possibilities and the fact that theatre today is a powerful and relevant tool for transforming reality.
Plywood, wood, metal.
In he framework of the Inspiration festival,
VDNH, Moscow, 2018
Total Theatre
The tribune invites the viewer to climb on it, take a seat and observe the life of the city - architecture, weather, other people, to experience the flow of life as a process and themselves as a significant part of this process. Total theatre is an object for the independent gathering together and appropriation of the city, history, and the environment in which it exists. In terms of its functions, this tribune is similar to its sister standing in Times Square in New York, as well as to its similar temporary structures installed in iconic places around the world. VDNKh is probably the ideal place where such a structure could be installed in Moscow - the quintessence of Stalinist architecture, the artistic peak
of the historical period, which is associated with a whole set of concepts and relations - admiration, rejection, attempted restoration, trauma, human catastrophe, the last great mythology, national pride, the relationship between the artistic and the social, and other extremely important issues that need reflection by modernity. In this sense, the "Total Theatre" tribune is a democratic proposal addressed to everyone to think about the important questions of our time and to form their own individual opinion.
Plywood, wood, metal, laser cutting.
In he framework of the Inspiration festival,
VDNH, Moscow, 2018
Horizontal Theatre
Dedicated to Olga Lopukhova.
This is the artist's favourite object – the spectator's seats are chaotically arranged on a flat surface. No one knows in advance where the action will take place, it can happen anywhere – something will happen right next to your knees, and something will happen at the far end of the stage space. There are no best and worst seats, as in a traditional theatre space, but there are different ones. Each spectator will have his or her own individual performance. And the spectator himself ceases to be just a spectator - he is both an observer and an object of observation for others present. Texts-instructions on the seats invite to creative exploration of the space. The optionality of the instructions is fundamental for the artist - one can perceive the object as an interactive sculpture for interaction with it, or as a simple park bench.
Plywood, wood, metal, laser cutting.
In he framework of the Inspiration festival,
VDNH, Moscow, 2018
Pocket Theatre
Alongside the large-scale ones, the project includes chamber objects, which is especially important for Moscow, which tends towards gigantism. The Pocket Theatre argues against the hierarchical idea of "bigger is better" – a change in the physical scale does not lead to a change in the artistic scale. By shrinking, the theatre becomes commensurate with the human being and becomes an accessible tool for creative exploration.
Plywood, wood, metal.
In he framework of the Inspiration festival,
VDNH, Moscow, 2018
Theatre for one spectator
The smallest of all sculptures, the tiny theatre is a theatre for one audience. In it you can perform a mono-performance for one person, make a proposal or sing a song. The object is located inside the architectural group of the Friendship of Peoples fountain, contrasting with it in both scale and statement. One person is the minimum and sufficient condition for the existence of both a single artistic event and an entire theatre.