Connecting Worlds

Vadim Tishin

September 20 - November 17, 2024

Rating: 0+

Curator: Ekaterina Meshkova

The exhibition featured the contemporary artist's diverse projects, including Forget-Me-Not, NeverWere, Apartment No. 50, The Call, Poet's Prayer, Seraphim, and Light Gaps. Each of these projects explored various sides of the concept of love and celebrated the lives of prominent cultural figures of the 20th century. Vadim Tishin masterfully combines various themes and things in his textile art objects, drawings, prints, and photographs, which, used together, give rise to a brand-new narrative.

The artist's works are filled with vibrant colors and patterns, assembled from scanned items into textile and graphic collages. He draws inspiration from Russian folk costumes, incorporating their elements into his creations and making new designs that reflect the spiritual essence of humanity and the Russian cultural code. Tishin works across a wide range of media, including textiles, drawing, printmaking, set design, ceramics, jewelry, photography, film, music, and dresses, all of which he uses to create his textile art objects.

In the Forget-Me-Not series, the artist was inspired by the legend of a young woman who asked her beau to bring her a blue flower growing by the river. Vadim Tishin reimagined this symbol of love; the flower is now featured on dresses and exists beyond time.

The world in Tishin's NeverWere is constructed from elements of both spiritual and tangible realities, alluding to human philosophical teachings from the 16th century to the avant-garde era.

Apartment No. 50 comprises textile art objects and photos that reinterpret Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita. By reworking the novel's numerous stage and screen adaptations as well as illustrations to the text, Tishin moves away from what he sees as excessively concrete images. Leaving ample room for imagination, he breathes new life into Bulgakov's universe, encouraging viewers to look at the famous novel from a fresh perspective.

The Call series embraces national traditions and styles, while Poet's Prayer explores several poems by prominent Russian poets, all titled Prayer.

The exhibition also featured a ten-meter-long dress titled Seraphim, adorned with the depiction of an angel's wings designed by Tishin. Here, the artist alludes to Sophia, the Wisdom of God, as he believes that "wisdom is the highest and ultimate goal to which one must aspire." Meanwhile, the Light Gaps series is dedicated to the light of the cultural figures who inspired the artist, including Oleg Karavaychuk, Alexander Vertinsky, Lidiya Vertinskaya, Anna Akhmatova, Galina Ulanova, Sergey Paradzhanov, Elena Guro, Erik Kurmangaliev, Rustam Khamdamov, and Alla Demidova.

The exhibition offered visitors a chance to explore the realm of contemporary Russian costume and revisit the art of the early 20th century, an era that has given Tishin a lot of inspiration.

About the Artist

Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Vadim Tishin is an interdisciplinary artist, fashion designer, and the director behind the Nebyvalshchina [NeverWere] Theater project. His creative output fuses modernity, theatricalism, and elements from various cultures. His mediums of choice include painting, drawing, performance art, installation, and costume design.

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