Filipp Dontsov

Contributed to special projects at the 1st and 2nd Moscow Biennales (2005, 2007) and Modus-R in Miami (2006). Included in the collections of the Tretyakov, the RussianMuseum and the Victoria and AlbertMuseum in London.

Family Portrait
Dontsov’s Family Portrait consists of three-dimensional framed pictures depicting happy moments in the life of a family. They are animated snapshots taken on a trip out of town, the likes of which one would usually find on any fireplace. But the family they portray is digital. Their bodies are plain, smooth and grey, generated with 3-D modeling software. It is the title that establishes their identity: they are a family (father, mother, and child), but not a specific family, as there are no clues to who they are, where they live, or where they come from. They have no names other than “family.” In the video installation Father and Child, the artist explores the relationship between two members of this family. The father holds the baby tightly in his hands — a gesture that conveys both security and possession — while the child slowly grows. Her body eventually becomes that of an adult, and then shrinks back to its original size. As the baby grows into a little girl and, ultimately, a woman, the father does not release his grip. Even when she has become an “Other” and does not need her father’s help anymore, he keeps holding her in his arms.
Antonio Geusa

Из серии Family Portrait. 2006. Цифровая анимация, цифровая рамка. 21,5х27,5 каждая. Courtesy Айдан-галерея; From the series Family Portrait. 2006. Digital animation, digital frame. 21.5 х 27.5 cm. each. Courtesy of the Aidan Gallery

Father and Child. 2006. DVD, видео, звук. 3 мин. 44 сек., закольцовано. Courtesy Айдан-галерея; Father and Child. 2006. DVD, sound. 3 min, 44 sec., looped. Courtesy of the Aidan Gallery