Polina Kanis

kanis_polina Polina Kanis was born in 1985 inSt. Petersburg.
Education: N.A. Nekrasov Higher TeachingSchool;
A.I.GertsenRussianStateTeachingUniversity;
I.E. Repin State Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture;
A. RodchenkoMoscowSchool of Photography and Multimedia.

Purification

Purification is the video recording of a performance in which Kanis recreates the ritual of leg ablutions. The image of a woman who bathes a man’s legs has many meanings and associations in various cultures and religious traditions. In her performance, the artist tries to lend the image new meaning, to purify it. She jettisons any obvious associations by placing the action in a neutral context; all the characters are dressed in identical, neutral clothing and are of approximately the same age. The result is a canonical image that has been completely deconstructed.

Полина Канис. Очищение. 2010. Видеодокументация перформанса. Courtesy автор / Polina Kanis. Purification. 2010. Performance video documentation. Courtesy author