Paper Construction. Author’s Book
Usually, ideas and projects appear first on paper. Paper is the lightest, simultaneously plastic material; it is both a basis for the text and a structure that allows you to design and create new projects right on the table, without waiting for a distant embodiment in a more solid form.
Object from the Adventures of the Square series.
Exit. Paper, tracing paper, water color, China ink,
double faced accordeon book, book strip 13х24 cm, 2002
All ideas first come at the sketch level in sketchbooks and notebooks; for me, these are important documents that provide material for many years to come. But many ideas cannot simply be drawn, you need to try and see them right away, and for many years I have been working with sweeps – the prototypes of books, where the pages open immediately in the sequence that creates the basis for the story, for the step-by-step action.
Adventures of the Square
The stories about the adventures of the square originated from experiences with a constructive postcard, and are also connected with the theme of transformation and movement, which is important for large installation projects and for working on performances.
From the Adventures of the Square series. Paper, tracing
paper, yarn, water color, China ink, double faced accordeon
book, book strip 15х22 сm, 2002
The reamers become a valuable structure in themselves, a kind of house where the square “travels”, where some “windows” allow you to go beyond the reverse side.
This is how abstract play structures emerged, including sketches of toy books and individual compositions as part of this constructive exploration.
The Red Square’s Trip. Paper, tracing paper, water color, China ink, yarn. Double faced accordeon book, 8 book strips, one strip dimension 15х22 сm, 2002
All objects are both installations and prototypes of books. I refer to them as paper constructions. These structures could initially be flat, with slots through which the movement of “frames”, also similar to windows, can be carried out. And voluminous, like spreads with various kinds of connections, which also allow you to transform objects. Thus, they continue the line of “transformers” of Polygon 5 (1995/96)
Object from the Adventures of the Square series. Exit. Paper, tracing paper, water color, China ink, double faced accordeon book, 8 strips, book strip 13х24 cm, 2002
From the Adventures of the Square series: The Triangle and The Square. Paper, colored paper, double faced accordeon book, 8 strips, book strip 15х18 сm, 2004
An author’s book is always a construction for me, so my objects resemble an installation, this is especially noticeable when large objects are created that are disproportionate to the book format. (Train)
It is the construction that expresses the correlation of space and conceptual content; I am interested in incompleteness, the possibility of changing or playing with the object.
And the theme of travel is especially close: a red square or a train, but from turn to turn there is awareness, understanding of the path intended and traced …
Train
An important theme of the author’s book is the theme of the train, the road. First, a book-sweep was made with the author’s text in colored pencils. Then the text changed slightly, became part of a series of constructive searches.
Object from the Train series. Object with printed tab.
Cardboard, photo, colored paper, gouache. Double
faced accordeon book, book strip dimension 30х25 сm, 2014
Author’s book Train. Paper, coloring paper, water color. Accordeon book, book strip 21х15 сm, 1997–1999
The theme “Train” was implemented with different variations, in different designs, in the end, the scan changed in scale and transformed into an installation.
From the Train series. Author’s object – accordeon book. 8 book strips with printed tab. Cardboard, photo, colored paper, gouache, book strip 30х25 см, 2014
This project was created on the basis of documentary materials on the construction of a bridge across the Kashira River accomplished in the 1930s by engineer O.V.Ivanova.
Author’s object: accordeon book from the Train series. Accordeon book, cardboard, paper, photo, plastic, with printed tab. Book strip 25х22 сm, 2013
Object from the “Train” series. An accordeon book of 10 strips of corrugated cardboard. Strip 50×35 cm.
The details are not fastened together, they can be used in various compositions. Cardboard, photo on transparent film, polystyrene, colored paper, gouache, acrylic, 2012
Book – installation from the Train series. The object consists on 4 panels. Each panel is 100х50,5х3 сm. Multilayer corrugated cardboard, polistirol, photo on the transparent film, gouache, acryl, colored and white paper, text on the printed tab, 8 book strips, 2012
In this form, the Train gave rise to a new project “Children of the Railway”, this project is also on the site’s timeline in the projects section.
„Blind“ Constructions
“Blind” constructions appeared a long time ago when, while experimenting with collage shapes, I started working with opening and closing windows. Without interacting with the design, nothing is visible. All windows are closed. The content opens in stages.
Blind construction. Corrugated cardboard,
colored paper, gouache, 70х85 сm, 1999
Blind Construction, interactive object, corrugated cardboard, colored paper, gouache, 70х85 сm, 1999
Blind Construction, interactive object, corrugated cardboard, colored paper, gouache, 70х75 сm, 1999–2000
Structures of Movement
A series of collages “Structures of Movement”, consisting of slotted structures, preceded the volumetric paper constructions. This series of works reflected on the legacy of the avant-garde, in particular Malevich. Therefore, many works participated in exhibitions at Nemchinovka in early 2000.
From the Structures of Movement series.
Paper, cardboard, gouache, 90х62 сm, 1997
The Structures of Movement series is, on the one hand, a continuation of the exploration of the possibility of creating transforming spaces, as was the case in the Polygon exhibitions, especially Polygon 5 1995/1996, on the other hand, it precedes voluminous interactive paper structures. The works are created on the principle of a collage from freely moving, loose elements. You can change the composition, add or refuse certain parts of it.
Three collages from the Structures of Movement series. Cardboard, paper, gouache, 1997-2000
Dimensions: 90х65 сm, 98х60 сm, 90х60 сm