This exhibition was born out of the demand of the present — the refusal to ignore the existential collapse, which is currently taking place. Lifeworld, usually calculated by algorithms and prearranged by the experience of the past, when plagued by the pandemic, has presented its new “given”, one that is characterized by a slowing down and a particular intensity. It is an unfolding scene in which each player’s choices can be observed.

It is a scene in which photography is acting out by showing its inherent qualities that lie beneath the surface. Whether spontaneous or intentional — and obtained as a trace of light or generated by a computer — a photographic image is revealing, even when it is created to conceal. Photography bears witness to our current reality, it is a carrier of information and noise; it is reflection, manipulation and creation; it is a record of what was and what was not; it is seduction, symptom and therapy. This exhibition came out of the inextricable connection of photography and the present.

The first edition of “Photography in Light of the Pandemic” is a collection of 10 projects by artists from Russia, China, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Poland and the Netherlands. Using photographic image the artists analyze the current shift that is happening across many areas. The changes are evident in social reality, politics, economy, media space, everyday and extraordinary practices (communicative, corporal or behavioral), as well as in the psychical reality of certain people and communities. The artists also investigate how photographic practice by both people and machines is now being altered. The new virtual platform also presents projects on topics that have become particularly acute during these unprecedented circumstances.

The collection will be enriched over time with new works and texts, whose aim is to examine the current situation throughout its duration.

Participating artists: Kira Golikova / Kristina Grishina / Irina Dmitrovskaya / Maria Koval / Daniel Kocherga / Olga Kuzmenkova / German Moiseev / Sergey Nazarov / Elena Ovchinnikova / Vasily Pindyurin

Curator: Feodora Domozhilova-Kaplan