CHA SHCHA Exhibition catalogue 

Andrey Erofeev, curator

Installation: Path of Heroes

“As they approach Julia Nesis’s spherical capsules, scattered about the forest floor, visitors twig: these are abandoned dwellings, but what exactly? Examples, perhaps, of biomorphic architecture – the style beloved of 60s futurists – or the shells of eggs laid by huge lizards or dinosaurs, vacated by their offspring. Heightening their singular appeal is the fact that they can be moved around freely, at whim.”

Installation: Labyrinth

“Wandering in the dark, existentially seeking solitude, has always been the reason for entering a traditional maze, and Julia Nesis’s “Labyrinth” embodies something special: its rusty, almost see-through walls shield visitors as they move deeper through its narrow ways, beckoning them to the centre, where steps ascend to an observation platform. “After passing through life”, the individual has the pleasure of appreciating the path taken below. The idea of existential self-analysis is presented here in its most purified and, at the same time, unostentatious form.”

Artist comment to the installation “The Path of Heroes”

“The Path of Heroes”

After a wait of many years we are just like recently hatched young. We encounter each other, smiling incredulously - with some trepidation - examining one another by touch. Our steps are careful, the sun blinds us, and we are yet to find out what awaits us in this world of mysteries. American architect and visionary Richard Buckminster Fuller wrote: “And so as the chick pecks at the shell seeking more nutriment it inadvertently breaks open the shell. Stepping forth from its initial sanctuary, the young bird must now forage on its own legs and wings to discover the next phase of its regenerative sustenance.”

My own picture of humanity today finds us just about to step out from amongst the pieces of our just one-second-ago broken eggshell. Our innocent, trial-and-error-sustaining nutriment is exhausted. We are faced with an entirely new relationship to the universe. We are going to have to spread our wings of intellect and fly or perish; that is, we must dare immediately to fly by the generalised principles governing universe and not by the ground rules of yesterday's superstitious and erroneously conditioned reflexes. And as we attempt competent thinking we immediately begin to reemploy our innate drive for comprehensive understanding.”

We know nothing about the young that have recently hatched: whether they are kind or cruel, beautiful or frightful, or what they will become.

Artist comment to the installation “The Labyrinth”

“The Labyrinth”

A labyrinth or maze is open to multiple interpretations. For some it’s a stark dance. Others perceive poetry and music as a wicked labyrinth of words and sounds. Some read our dreams as a maze. Others suggest it’s a metaphor for ourselves. For me, a labyrinth symbolises life. Having to find your own way - the one that’s right specifically for you - among multiple paths. To make the correct turn on reaching a crossroads.

To never despair when lost. To find your own truth now, or a little later, when the opportunity arises. The walls of this labyrinth are subtle, almost transparent. It stands amidst the forest with paved paths that lack “maziness”. Like a spider’s web or a butterfly’s cocoon, it’s a work of nature. Human nature. It’s our common space, the way thoughts, cognitive mistakes and illusions run through our minds. At the centre, there are stairs leading up a tower. Having climbed it, you can see your path. But this is not Ariadne’s life-saving thread. It will not help you find your way out of the maze. Why does one have to look at the labyrinth from the centre? Why is this so mesmerising? What mystery does it reveal?