Zhanna Kadyrova. “Monumental Propaganda.” 2013. Smalt, tile
Job description
The large-scale mosaic panel by Zhanna Kadyrova refers to the tradition of monumental art, which was part of Soviet propaganda. In this work, compared to previous projects, the artist not only reinterprets the communist ideology of equality appropriated by the Soviet Union, exposing its totalitarian nature, but goes further. She critically undermines the tools of influence of any ideology, replacing images of the past with plots from the present. Former propaganda posters have today transformed into advertising banners that broadcast ideas of wealth and bright entertainment. Thus, in the foreground, we see recognizable images from the 2013 Versace perfume advertising campaign called Eros: the artist meticulously recreated the figure of a naked young man with a red mantle on his shoulders and a perfume bottle in his hands, enlarged dozens of times. In the background, multicolored tiles capture a bright party with champagne, fireworks, and other attributes of luxury: a watch, an expensive red car, evening attire of the heroines and hero. The work was first presented at the exhibition of the nominees of the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2013, which is also reflected in the composition: the floor on the panel repeats the colors and pattern of the tiles laid out in the halls of the art center. Artistic assets, wealthy institutions, and field agents become part of the capitalist enrichment system.
In this work, the artist combines methods of postmodernist and postcolonial criticism. On the one hand, she resorts to ironic hyperbole, saturating the image with artifacts of neoliberal consumer culture. On the other hand, she undermines both the epistemological foundations and the visual codes of Soviet neocolonial policy. Ultimately, the artist juxtaposes both systems, because despite the semantic and visual differences, they are united by manipulativeness and exploitative nature.
For this project, Zhanna Kadyrova won the main prize of the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2013.
