typology: art installation
year: 2022
location: Gatchina
status: completed
photo: Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov
If the circle is the oldest sign that symbolizes unity and infinity, and the table is a universal symbol of a common space, then the round table is an invitation to talk, a place for discussion. The light installation is a tablecloth over water, which changes its boundaries, color and intensity of illumination in accordance with the tone and manner in which the conversation takes place. The sound fades, then it becomes louder and clearer. We hear rustles, creaks, mysterious hisses. It seems as if words are heard beneath them – but are these people talking? And if they are people, what are they talking abouit? This continues for several minutes. Then the sound disappears and the light fades with it. The viewer is left in silence and in the dark, as if there was no conversation. Often we do not hear each other, often we fail to understand the simplest of words. Human consciousness passes the conversation through the prism of its perception, refracting and changing the meaning beyond recognition. This is how ghosts arise, shadows of conversations. And our table is a mysterious conversation that everyone will understand in their own way. The audio recording uses dialogues from the films: Julius Karasik, “Own Opinion”; Federico Fellini, “8 1/2”; Gabriel Axel, “Babette’s Feast”; Takeshi Kitano, “Mayhem”; Sergey Mikaelyan, “Prize”; Armando Ianucci, “Thick of it”; Ingmar Bergman, “Scenes from a Marriage”
