In celebration of the Russian orthodox New Year, 11.12 Gallery will bring Rinat Voligamsi’s critically-acclaimed collection, Snow, into Singapore. The collection is a compilation of Rinat Voligamsi’s recent works, inspired by his highly unusual perception of phenomena and existences. Voligamsi’s quasi-documentary method closely examines the universe through a surrealistic lens and presents his take to his audiences in grisaille. Russian curator, Arseny Steiner, compares Voligamsi’s mimic of the style of a Soviet political document with highly-acclaimed literature, 1984.

“If a colour photograph mimics reality, but is initially dead and is only a painted scarecrow of fact, the raster image contains a message, the perception of which requires a shrewd newspaper reader. That is how the Ministry of Truth worked in the dystopian ‘1984’, that is also how the newspaper “Pravda” worked.”

Voligamsi parodies old photographs from Soviet newspapers which capture mystery, truth and deception, and refreshes them with his trademark quirky sense of humor, to tell stories about the world around us. Some of his works include two and a half generals strolling in uniform, huts with eyes, and a group of smoking soldiers and the glow of their lit cigarettes which form an image of a constellation.

“The project reveals the gaping holes of truthfully reflected reality, which any genre, except Conceptualism, tends to gloss over. The artist removes the layer of gloss on reality, which is mandatory for Fine Art, and subsequently the endless white radiance of the void opens up in Voligamsi’s pictures. The snow that conceals the boundless Russian field and the snow of the raster are equally reliable in concealing the accuracy of the facts from the importunate witness,” said Steiner.

Snow will be on exhibition in 11.12 Gallery between 14 January to 28 February 2014 while the official launch ceremony will take place a day ahead, on 13 January. The ceremony will be graced by the Russian ambassador to Singapore, Mr Leonid Moiseev, the Singapore ambassador to Russia from 2002 to 2008, Mr Michael Tay, and also Rinat Voligamsi himself.

-11.12 Gallery

Image: © Rinat Voligamsi
Constellation
2010
Oil on canvas
100 x 100cm