EliKuka
13 Jul - 31 Aug 2012
EliKuka
Training Simulator of World Order
13 July - 31 August 2012
REGINA Gallery is pleased to present World Order Training, the personal exhibition of creative duo EliKuka. In order to prepare for radical changes taking place in the world in general, and the fall of Russia in particular, EliKuka members Oleg Eliseev and Evgeny Kukoverov suggest pulling on strings.
With a typical sarcasm, the authors have decided to show the complete absurdity of the existing order on Earth. In the exhibition, objects are connected by strings which pass through rollers. Anyone who wants can move these objects up and down, right and left, so that the exhibition space will change before their eyes. The artists appeal is “Move the art!”
Even if it will be very hard or almost impossible to find the ideal position for the objects, one would hardly be able to get away from participating in the game of pulling “ropes”. On the display, there are objects hanging: an arm in a plaster cast, a bag full of trash, paintings in gilded frames, inflatable toy animals, a little box making wild animal cries, dumbbells, socks, a bottle with a hole which dips in and out of a bucket full of water, and there are the spectators who will have the unique opportunity to try painting with their feet. This whole interactive display is experimental art, partially provocative and partially absurd, and, as any system, it’s not important whether it’s social or economic. There is only one way to bring about radical changes into the existing world order. It’s simple: come with a pair of scissors and “snip” everything off.
Oleg Eliseev, Evgeny Kukovarov:
There is no way to see the exhibition because there is no exhibition as such. The negation of the very static situation, where objects assume beautiful poses whilst standing still before the eyes of the spectators, diminishes with each subsequent slide of the roller block. Undoubtedly, we could always agree with the combination of objects built by the previous visitors of the exhibition but it’s also possible to get rebellious and break the existing order. It brings to mind analogies of Russia’s political system whereby there are only two ways of existence - a conformist game following the rules of the authorities or a constructive resistance to it, suggesting your own way of living. Instantly, a comparison comes to mind with the Swiss duo Fischli and Weiss, with their travel and transformation of objects (especially their video ‘The Way Things Go’) but the work of the Elikuka distinguishes itself by having a non-linear structure of movement based on the impulsive individual chaos of the spectator. In addition to the artistic component forming the project, there is also a secret ecological component - every movement of the cable will generate power which will be used to pay the electricity bill of REGINA Gallery.
Consisting of the creative duo of artist-musicians Oleg Eliseev and Evgeny Kukoverov, EliKuka was formed in 2007. As early as 2008, they had taken part in the exhibition LAUGHTERLIFE in London and prepared the Fatty Exhibition (Zhyrnaya Vystavka) and the Boring Exhibition (Skuchnaya Vystavka) in Moscow. In 2009, they presented their project Bacteria mon amour! in Paris. EliKuka’s exhibition XYEVO-ZAEBIS took place in the REGINA Berloga in 2011.
Training Simulator of World Order
13 July - 31 August 2012
REGINA Gallery is pleased to present World Order Training, the personal exhibition of creative duo EliKuka. In order to prepare for radical changes taking place in the world in general, and the fall of Russia in particular, EliKuka members Oleg Eliseev and Evgeny Kukoverov suggest pulling on strings.
With a typical sarcasm, the authors have decided to show the complete absurdity of the existing order on Earth. In the exhibition, objects are connected by strings which pass through rollers. Anyone who wants can move these objects up and down, right and left, so that the exhibition space will change before their eyes. The artists appeal is “Move the art!”
Even if it will be very hard or almost impossible to find the ideal position for the objects, one would hardly be able to get away from participating in the game of pulling “ropes”. On the display, there are objects hanging: an arm in a plaster cast, a bag full of trash, paintings in gilded frames, inflatable toy animals, a little box making wild animal cries, dumbbells, socks, a bottle with a hole which dips in and out of a bucket full of water, and there are the spectators who will have the unique opportunity to try painting with their feet. This whole interactive display is experimental art, partially provocative and partially absurd, and, as any system, it’s not important whether it’s social or economic. There is only one way to bring about radical changes into the existing world order. It’s simple: come with a pair of scissors and “snip” everything off.
Oleg Eliseev, Evgeny Kukovarov:
There is no way to see the exhibition because there is no exhibition as such. The negation of the very static situation, where objects assume beautiful poses whilst standing still before the eyes of the spectators, diminishes with each subsequent slide of the roller block. Undoubtedly, we could always agree with the combination of objects built by the previous visitors of the exhibition but it’s also possible to get rebellious and break the existing order. It brings to mind analogies of Russia’s political system whereby there are only two ways of existence - a conformist game following the rules of the authorities or a constructive resistance to it, suggesting your own way of living. Instantly, a comparison comes to mind with the Swiss duo Fischli and Weiss, with their travel and transformation of objects (especially their video ‘The Way Things Go’) but the work of the Elikuka distinguishes itself by having a non-linear structure of movement based on the impulsive individual chaos of the spectator. In addition to the artistic component forming the project, there is also a secret ecological component - every movement of the cable will generate power which will be used to pay the electricity bill of REGINA Gallery.
Consisting of the creative duo of artist-musicians Oleg Eliseev and Evgeny Kukoverov, EliKuka was formed in 2007. As early as 2008, they had taken part in the exhibition LAUGHTERLIFE in London and prepared the Fatty Exhibition (Zhyrnaya Vystavka) and the Boring Exhibition (Skuchnaya Vystavka) in Moscow. In 2009, they presented their project Bacteria mon amour! in Paris. EliKuka’s exhibition XYEVO-ZAEBIS took place in the REGINA Berloga in 2011.