8:45 minutes
Our Grandmothers’ Gardens by Olga Grotova is based on the history of Soviet allotment gardens, which were small plots of land distributed amongst the families of factory workers to compensate for poor food supply in a country that was over-producing weapons. Beginning in the 1960s, Grotova’s great grandmother and grandmother tended an allotment garden for three decades, after their release from an all-female gulag camp for “enemies of the people”. These camps detained wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters of men executed during Stalinist repressions. The detainees were often subjected to rape and violence—a horrific chapter in Soviet history that is persistently covered up by the Russian state. The family’s garden was set up with the help of other former inmates of the gulag camp and became a site where trauma could be processed through engagement with the earth. In 2021, Grotova and her mother Tatiana traveled back to the Urals to find the garden. On their journey they visited communities wrecked by deindustrialization and extreme pollution, and met women who still garden to regain autonomy from the state. Our Grandmothers’ Gardens presents an installation of photograms made using an intricate process developed by the artist which layers the traces of plants, debris, and women’s belongings found in the gardens with drawings, soils, and pigments. Grotova’s process of layering, erasing, and rearranging is connected to her grandmothers’ daily labor of digging and planting; acts that aided in processing their trauma. By employing the camera-less (and less precise) technique of the photogram, Grotova transfers agency to the plants and objects that are intertwined with the lives of the women who tended the gardens. The installation is juxtaposed with highly constructed propaganda images from Soviet magazines such as Peasant Woman and Gardening from the 1950s-1960s. The work critiques the state-commissioned photographs of women for their connection with Soviet colonization and oppression, notably in the Soviet republics that have been drained of resources and harvests for the benefit of the Russian state. The photograms give voice to the debris and the discarded, much like the women’s voices drowned out by patriarchal structures.
Olga Grotova is an artist and poet whose practice involves collecting and mapping stories of Soviet and Eastern-European women that have been erased from established historical narratives. Grotova undertakes research journeys to discover the lost histories of communities and families from former Soviet states in order to dispel male-dominated and power-centric ‘official’ narratives. Her practice is a feminist interruption of the Russian political narrative plagued by extraction, patriarchy, and imperialism. Centering erased narratives about women undermines political regimes built on terror, misogyny, and militarization. By uncovering women’s histories and questioning the homogenized state-backed narrative, Grotova’s work creates potential for larger explorations of resistance to global ecological catastrophe, colonization, and totalitarianism.
Continuing Oursler’s broader exploration of the moving image, Absentia is one of three micro-scale installations that incorporate small objects and tiny video projections within a miniature active proscenium...
Weekly Picks: Indonesia (28 January - 3 February 2019) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Weekly To Do January 28, 2019 Top Picks of Indonesia art events in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya from 28 January – 3 February 2019 Baron Basuning Studio, together with Galeri National Indonesia, invites you to NOOR, a solo exhibition of Baron Basuning’s works...
She made gods for 70 years: meet the matriarch of Singapore’s last handcrafted Taoist deity producer | South China Morning Post Advertisement Advertisement Asia travel + FOLLOW Get more with my NEWS A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you Learn more Tan Chwee Lian is the matriarch behind Say Tian Hng, Singapore’s last Taoist idol business...
Pandemic in the Philippines: A cultural sector on its own | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles August 17, 2020 By Katrina Stuart Santiago (2,200 words, 8-minute read) When I was first asked to write about “cultural leadership” in the Philippines, I turned up a blank...
The 2024 Puppy Bowl: Team Fluff, Team Ruff Go Head-to-Head | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer upper waypoint The Do List The 20th Annual Puppy Bowl Pits Team Fluff Against Team Ruff — and Everyone Wins Mark Kennedy, Associated Press Feb 7 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Some of the adorable participants in this year's Puppy Bowl...
Performance Making during a Pandemic: Of Innovation, Form and Embeddedness | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints Kornkarn Rungsawang September 29, 2021 By Adriana Nordin Manan (1,000 words, 3-minute read) If arts panel discussions are meant to reflect the times, “Critical Responses to Performance-Making in A Post-Pandemic World” positioned itself well: at this stage of the pandemic, it was less about open-ended contemplation of how the performing arts can retain vitality amidst the prohibitive circumstances, and more about sharing examples of performances that exemplify the act of moving ahead despite the barriers...
The Best Late-Night Crab and Garlic Noodles in San Bruno | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer upper waypoint The Midnight Diners Some of the Bay Area’s Best Garlic Butter Crab Is Served in San Bruno After Midnight Luke Tsai Thien Pham Feb 8 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email The Dungeness crab and garlic noodles at San Bruno’s A-One Kitchen hold their own against any restaurant in the Bay — and they’re available until 1 a.m...
Like the film Le Mouton noir, this dimension is counterbalanced by a burlesque element...
Ballad of the Unabomber Part I is a painting by Orion Shepherd that features several manila folders stacked in order according to their size, resting atop a grainy hardwood pattern...
5 Standout Works from Judy Chicago’s Groundbreaking Career - Galerie Subscribe Art + Culture Interiors Style + Design Emerging Artists Discoveries Artist Guide More Creative Minds Life Imitates Art Real estate Events Video Galerie House of Art and Design Subscribe About Press Advertising Contact Us Follow Galerie Sign up to receive our newsletter Subscribe “Judy Chicago: Herstory,” 2023...