Architectures of Power 

Born in the USSR 

 This series of dystopian-style works is dedicated to life in an authoritarian state. I was inspired to create this series by George Orwell’s novel 1984. This novel, written in 1949, is modern today. Many of the problems in the book are similar to the history of Russia: the ideology of the totalitarian state, the crisis of science, the destruction of classical literature, surveillance of people, and changing human consciousness through the simplification of language. In a series of self-portraits, I hide my face behind a cloth to create a universal image of a person. Red, for me, symbolizes authoritarianism and totalitarianism. The use of threads and embroidery shows the influence of ideology on a person. As a result, independence and individuality are no longer valued. Personality is suppressed, becomes unnecessary, disappears.
P.s. George Orwell’s novel 1984 was effectively banned in the USSR from its publication in 1949 almost until the very end of the Soviet Union. In contemporary Russia the novel is not officially banned, but in 2024 the Russian Ministry of Education removed 1984 from the list of recommended extracurricular reading for schools.