Zhanna Kadyrova. “Canned Goods.” 2012. Fragments of the transport capsule of the medium-range missile system RSD-10 “Pioneer” (SS-20), acrylic. 330 × 330 × 243 cm

Job description

The sculptural diptych “Preserves” by Zhanna Kadyrova was created in 2012 during her residency at “Biryuchiy 012” specifically for installation on Biryuchiy Island in the Kherson region. Since then, the artist has become a permanent resident of the project. In her first work, she referred to local history and artifacts embedded in the landscape. The found objects — parts of transportation capsules of the medium-range missile complex RSD-10 “Pioneer” (SS-20) — externally resembled ordinary tin cans, which the artist embodied in her sculptures. The prototype for their design was tin cans of sardines and sprats that could be purchased in the local grocery store.

Such a simple social image was an open gesture to a wide audience — both tourists and local residents — and at the same time resonated with the theme of the residency that year. The concept of “The Fourth Dimension” by curator Maria Khrushchak focused on the challenges of modernity and human perception of time in general. The found artifacts only emphasized the preservation of the island in time: both through the abandoned fragments of the USSR military arsenal left here, which were meant to demonstrate the former power of the region, and through the conditional modernization of the Soviet recreational complex, which still retained signs of the past [1].

During the creation of the work, a survey was conducted among that year’s residents: which of the preserves they preferred. The final lists with the names of those who voted were recorded on the sculptures in the format of the list of ingredients of each tin can:

1. More about this work on the artist’s website: https://www.kadyrova.com/public-art/preserves-2012.