UGLY SCENES. NUANCES _____ 21.11.2024 – 25.01.2025

Super Bien, Berlin, DE

In this series of works, I turn to Deleuze’s philosophy of layering, distinction and repetition, vibration and oscillation. Contrasts are an integral part of our history. I draw on the concept of punitive restraint (Foucault) in an attempt to conceal the emotional component—as if severed by anxiety. The awareness of unrealised utopias and thinking in terms of totality are embedded in the details carved into the wooden surface and obscured by black pigment.

I continue to reflect on the recurrence of violence in history and the systems of formalisation, classification, and ordering of events that create a distance between us and the emotional perception of the tragic episodes of our time. For the visual narrative, I turn to religious symbolism, techniques often employed in sacred art, and the cold conventionality of minimalism. The vertical, fragile lines of the monument-like sculptures stand in contrast to the contextualised element. The horizontal, repetitive lines drawn on the “monuments” faintly resemble bureaucratic forms or formal lists extending into infinity—an endless repetition of history’s mistakes that cannot be corrected. Modernity is steeped in anxiety and catastrophising, giving rise to a compulsion to systematise everything.

The aesthetic visualisation of violent scenes across different epochs has served a cathartic function, shaped by eschatological consciousness and collective fears. When confronted with such imagery, we experience a range of emotions that have a ‘purifying’ effect. Clear examples of this can be found in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Through the tragedy of the individual, the tragedy of the world is revealed—and vice versa. An interest in the interaction between object and space is also evident in the works, where contrasting elements of the installation are placed in dialogue.

Curated by Elisabeth Sonneck

Text by Sofiia Yesakova

Solo exhibition

Ugly scenes. Nuances 1.1, funeral ribbon, 2024. Close-up

Ugly scenes. Nuances 1.1, 175 × 10 × 10 cm, 70 × 40 cm, 100 × 25 cm, Acrylic, gesso, gelatin, wooden boards, black lacquer, funeral ribbon, 2024. Close-up