Images stimulate desire. Behind the outer surface of the urban space visual images there is a layer of meaning that is symbols and signs. Visual reality should be seen as a cultural construct which is to be “read” and interpreted in the same way as a literary text; as a cultural "text" which reflects the history of the country, everything which was accumulated over the centuries in the same general appearance of the urban environment and contains "folk relics" themselves.

 

The Soviet city space was always too rough, straight and colorless. Changes of the “Wild and Evil’ 90s” added colors, advertisement appeared in the streets, on the one hand that solved the utilitarian tasks of business self-presentation, either big or small, but on the other hand dominated as a decorative element of the urban environment.

 

The photos of the urban environment were printed on transparent film and taken in a pile through a light table at a long exposure. As a result, an image similar to a watercolor drawing appeared. By this action, I transform many symbols and signs into a single image. Relatively speaking, I pour a flavor enhancer into the dish. But this does not make it tastier or healthier.

 

How a light collage is created

 

 

To create initial images, the author periodically visits the same areas of the city at intervals of at least a year. The plan is to observe the environment for at least another ten years, to record and analyze changes in terms of processes occurring in society.

25 november 2021