Anastasia Sosunova / Barry Walking Himself
22 November 2019 – 11 January 2020
Kogo
Kastani 42,
50410 Tartu, Estonia
Photographer: Madis Kats
Once, scrolling through the social media group for a
small Vilnius neighbourhood, I came across a photo that had been posted of a
solitary dog who was rambling around the block. Among the gel nail offers and
parking complaints in the group feed, this one stood out. The author of the
photo asking “Did anyone lose their
dog?”
was instantly introduced to Barry in the comment
section below — “Please meet Barry, our neighbourhood dog walking himself”; “It’s
Barry, and he’s OK”. I thought that Barry could join my
collection of stories about unsung heroes. It’s
no secret, I like stories. But I didn’t really notice how gradually Barry
became a working title for this show.
small Vilnius neighbourhood, I came across a photo that had been posted of a
solitary dog who was rambling around the block. Among the gel nail offers and
parking complaints in the group feed, this one stood out. The author of the
photo asking “Did anyone lose their
dog?”
was instantly introduced to Barry in the comment
section below — “Please meet Barry, our neighbourhood dog walking himself”; “It’s
Barry, and he’s OK”. I thought that Barry could join my
collection of stories about unsung heroes. It’s
no secret, I like stories. But I didn’t really notice how gradually Barry
became a working title for this show.
Modern neighbourhoods are famous for their electronic
gates, active yet xenophobic communities, obstacle-prone designs and the
restless removal of all kinds of distortions. Letting Barry walk himself, I
thought, was a small thing they agreed to turn a blind eye to, and this breach
was important. A kind of consensual blindness, an expression I stumbled upon in
one of Paul Chan’s texts[1]:
that kind of silent agreement “that allows the
collective to recognize that nothing is settled, that everything can still be
altered, that what was done — but turned out badly — can be done again”.
gates, active yet xenophobic communities, obstacle-prone designs and the
restless removal of all kinds of distortions. Letting Barry walk himself, I
thought, was a small thing they agreed to turn a blind eye to, and this breach
was important. A kind of consensual blindness, an expression I stumbled upon in
one of Paul Chan’s texts[1]:
that kind of silent agreement “that allows the
collective to recognize that nothing is settled, that everything can still be
altered, that what was done — but turned out badly — can be done again”.
When imagining the coexistence of entities I picture
snake-shaped creatures swallowing and absorbing things that don’t
fit their body definitions. I see walls giving up their impregnability and
gripping objects that are leaning on them; armour getting abandoned and
repurposed as bird feeders. I imagine fortifications and protective wear losing
their functions and being reused by a zero waster’s
creativity. As the digestion proceeds, nothing’s
surprising anymore: pigeons are eating pizzas, lawn mowers are free-roaming
around the block, teenagers are playing with the glimpses of fire, and loud
confessions are being made on transport.
All are there, fitting in this strange organism of coexisting identities, whose
body is a terrain for mundane aberrations in the quiet and structured life of a
district.
snake-shaped creatures swallowing and absorbing things that don’t
fit their body definitions. I see walls giving up their impregnability and
gripping objects that are leaning on them; armour getting abandoned and
repurposed as bird feeders. I imagine fortifications and protective wear losing
their functions and being reused by a zero waster’s
creativity. As the digestion proceeds, nothing’s
surprising anymore: pigeons are eating pizzas, lawn mowers are free-roaming
around the block, teenagers are playing with the glimpses of fire, and loud
confessions are being made on transport.
All are there, fitting in this strange organism of coexisting identities, whose
body is a terrain for mundane aberrations in the quiet and structured life of a
district.
“Ignorance
is the ground of thought. Unproof is the ground of action”,
says the foreteller Faxe in “The Left Hand of
Darkness”[2].
It might sound like a joke, but the foreteller’s
insight is yet another secret of being that I learn from science fiction. It’s
worth searching for a language to articulate our retreat and gentle openness,
to the unknown, the unforetold, the unproven. To find a place and time where
nothing is exotic anymore, and things don’t need to be positioned with regard to
the ‘center’.
The vernacular I’m looking for might be constructed out
of visions and materials rather than words. In broad daylight, full of errors.
is the ground of thought. Unproof is the ground of action”,
says the foreteller Faxe in “The Left Hand of
Darkness”[2].
It might sound like a joke, but the foreteller’s
insight is yet another secret of being that I learn from science fiction. It’s
worth searching for a language to articulate our retreat and gentle openness,
to the unknown, the unforetold, the unproven. To find a place and time where
nothing is exotic anymore, and things don’t need to be positioned with regard to
the ‘center’.
The vernacular I’m looking for might be constructed out
of visions and materials rather than words. In broad daylight, full of errors.
[1]Essay “The
Unthinkable Community” by Paul Chan
https://www.e-flux.com/journal/16/61274/the-unthinkable-community/
Unthinkable Community” by Paul Chan
https://www.e-flux.com/journal/16/61274/the-unthinkable-community/
[2]“The Left
Hand of Darkness”, a science fiction novel by U.S. writer
Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1969.
Hand of Darkness”, a science fiction novel by U.S. writer
Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1969.
Anastasia Sosunova (b. 1993) is a visual artist
based in Vilnius. Sosunova holds a BA in Graphic Art and a MA in Sculpture from
the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her multidisciplinary practice comprising of
video, installation, sculpture and graphic art translates between scales,
manipulating personal stories and subtle material gestures, following through
their entanglements in vaster tales. These are tales about how communities and
identities are formed, subsist and come undone. Often this is a practice of
noticing and knowing intimately our contexts, and the ways in which we interact
with them.
based in Vilnius. Sosunova holds a BA in Graphic Art and a MA in Sculpture from
the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Her multidisciplinary practice comprising of
video, installation, sculpture and graphic art translates between scales,
manipulating personal stories and subtle material gestures, following through
their entanglements in vaster tales. These are tales about how communities and
identities are formed, subsist and come undone. Often this is a practice of
noticing and knowing intimately our contexts, and the ways in which we interact
with them.
Recent exhibitions and screenings
include: I: project space, Beijing (2019); Cubitt, London (2019); Contemporary
Art Center, Rupert and Editorial, Vilnius (2018); Survival Kit, Riga (2018 and
2019) The Sunroom, Richmond (2018), National Gallery, Prague (2017)
include: I: project space, Beijing (2019); Cubitt, London (2019); Contemporary
Art Center, Rupert and Editorial, Vilnius (2018); Survival Kit, Riga (2018 and
2019) The Sunroom, Richmond (2018), National Gallery, Prague (2017)
The exhibition is supported by Cultural Endowment of
Estonia, city of Tartu and Lithuanian Council for Culture and organised in
collaboration with Vilnius gallery (AV17).