Alimpiev Viktor

Born in 1973 in Moscow. Studied at the Moscow State Academic Art School 1905, the Moscow Pedagogical University and the Moscow Institute of Contemporary Art. Participated in the 50th and 55th Venice Biennale (2003, 2013), Manifesta 5, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art (San Sebastian, 2004), and the 4th Berlin Biennale (2006). Winner of the Sergey Kuryokhin Award (2021, “Best Media Object”). Lives and works in Moscow.

EVIL EARTH

The video project “Evil Earth” is inspired by angst about the state of the world, which reverberates in our hearts, suggesting that we might lose this modern world as we know it. Heaving beneath our feet, the ground itself is forcing us to dance this very uneasy dance, moving as if on the verge of losing coordination. With a drumbeat, a desperate gesture points toward salvation, counteracting the imposed deafening rhythm of angst.

Strikingly, it is the dark, ominous atmosphere of the work itself, its explosive air, which becomes a shelter for the disturbed audience. There is a paradoxical feeling of calm in the thick of the battle, as Ernst Jünger says: “Astonishment can reach such a degree as to overshadow fear: it is as if a thin veil was rising, which tends to hide the world from us. That is why it is said that there is a calm at the epicentre of the cyclone.” It is a fragile, glassy calm, but at least we are still here, at least My Drummer is still beating her drum.

The pre-performance “Evil Earth” was prepared together with Irina Shulzhenko and shown at the New Space of the Theatre of Nations. Svetlana Mamresheva, a leading actor of the Gogol Centre, Arina Zvereva, head of the Electrotheatre vocal ensemble, and two astounding percussionists, Renata Saitova and Ulyana Shcherbakova, took part in the project.

Video, 17 min. 23 sec. Fragment: Фрагмент видео

The works was created with the support of Aksenov Family Foundation. Video work was created in 2018 and became part of the artist’s solo exhibition “Evil Earth” in 2018 (OVCHARENKO Gallery, Moscow). Courtesy OVCHARENKO Gallery