Ghost ship

2017, VIDEO INSTALLATIONS

2017 — PROJECT “MAN AS BIRD. IMAGES OF JOURNEYS”. THE PUSHKIN STATE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS for THE 57TH Venice BIENNALE, VENICE, ITALY

The site-specific installation engages profoundly with the historical memory of the location: for countless centuries, Venetian piers have hosted the mooring of ships.

Tanya Akhmetgalieva’s contemplations delve into the individual odyssey of each person’s life, crafting a narrative that portrays our perpetual yearning to be anywhere but our present location. Our aspirations radiate like distant beacons on the horizon, as we perpetually navigate from one aspiration to the next, struggling to embrace the present moment.

Within this installation, the audience is drawn into a captivating and ceaseless vortex of thoughts and emotions. Surreal, artificial light generates undulating waves, splashes, and sounds that intermingle with the visuals, rendering the beguiling surface of the unknown a veiled expanse fraught with treacherous reefs.

The convergence of these currents spawns illusions, leading towards precarious circumstances and even the possibility of foundering. The echoes of sirens’ songs permeate the atmosphere; a spectral and distant apparition emerges on the horizon, gradually advancing to unleash turmoil and turmoil. Subsequently, it ebbs away, leaving behind tranquility and hush, only to resurge after a time.

Amid the individual visual narratives within the installation, each viewer embarks upon their distinctive personal voyage. The zenith of this journey is a rendezvous with a phantom vessel, compelling contemplation and introspection.

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tanya akhmetgalieva
tanya akhmetgalieva