10.10.2022

Bolotyan Ilmira

Ilmira Bolotyan is an artist, curator, candidate of philological sciences. Lives and works in Moscow.

In 2008 she defended her Ph.D. thesis at the Moscow State Pedagogical University. She also studied at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors (2006), the Baza Institute (2013), and Free Workshops (2015). Lectures on the history of contemporary Russian drama and art, writes about theater, art, the art market and feminist initiatives. Nominated for the Independent Literary Award Debut (2005), the Film Without Film Festival (2011), the Lyubimovka Festival of Young Drama (co-authored) (2013), the Innovation All-Russian Competition in the field of contemporary visual art (as part of the Red ) in the category "Curatorial project" (2016), awards in the field of contemporary art named after Sergei Kuryokhin in the category "Best work of visual art" (2018), laureate of the competition "Factory workshops" in the category "Experiment" (2019).

SELECTED GROUP AND PERSONAL PROJECTS:

2019 — "Intangible Labor". MMOMA, Moscow
2018 — "Ideal age". MMOMA, Moscow
2017 — “Date at the Museum”. Gallery "Fragment", Moscow
2015 — "Nothing will grow together because nothing belongs together". Tromsø, Norway
2014 — "Heroine of our time". Galleri 69, Oslo
2014 — "Forever living corpse". Center for Contemporary Art "Winzavod", Moscow
2014 — "Feminist Pencil - II". ArtPlay, Moscow
2012 — Shanghai Biennale. Shanghai, China

SELECTED CURATOR AND SOCURATOR PROJECTS:

2017 — Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art. Garage Museum, Moscow
2016 — Psycho. Center for Creative Industries "FABRIKA", Moscow
2015 — "Body". Center "Red", Moscow
2015 — “I - Art. F - Feminism. Actual Dictionary ". ISSMAG Gallery, Moscow
2015 — "Ordinary Martyrs". Center "Red", Moscow

PROJECT "DATE IN A MUSEUM"

"Date in the Museum" is an interactive research project in which more than 400 people, aged 20 to 53, took part. The artist registered on dating sites, indicating in the status that she was inviting to the museum for an exhibition of contemporary art. Men who agreed to a date received a tour of the exhibition from the artist. There were no meetings outside the institutions of contemporary art.

In this case, the fact of visiting a museum and an exhibition can be viewed as an act or a metaphor of seduction. The participants initially agreed to a date in order to get to know and / or continue a relationship with the artist, since they were involved in the project, not knowing about its specific goals. The author's goal was to switch the participants' attention from the object-self to the exhibition, to turn a date with the artist into a date with art. Acquaintance with art here is akin to flirting, discussion of objects takes on the features of melodrama, and the very invitation to the museum can sometimes be perceived as an insult.

One of the aspects of the study was the topic of sexuality and frustration, their manifestations in modern society. The project is also a variant of institutional criticism and determination of the place of the museum in people's lives, the perception of this space as a place for leisure, but at the same time associated with the feeling of the tightness of contemporary art and its inaccessibility for most people.

The main result of the project, which lasted more than a year, was a series of small-format graphic works depicting biomorphic creatures, referring to the aesthetics of botanical illustration. These unrecognizable organic forms embody, on the one hand, the sensual tension that arises during a personal meeting, on the other, the expectations and methods of seduction, broadcast by people through photos and profiles on dating sites, in social networks. At the same time, graphics are the only ethical way to present the participants without showing them individually, leaving only their names and nicknames.

The picturesque diptych "Trinity" in the context of the project represents the sphere of the ideal: both as an ideal representation of heterosexual relationships (a model of a patriarchal family), and as an ideal museum version of representing these relationships.

THE PROJECT "TUSOVKA. THE END OF AN ERA"

Graphic works made from photographs found on the Internet from Moscow nightclubs show young people full of energy, states associated with emotional tension and vivid representation. Heroes and heroines of the series "Tusovka. The end of an era" seems to be at the limit of their capabilities and emotions – and these moments, of course, are the decoration of a series of everyday life. However, they also turn into images of the era of the end, if we turn to those experiences that are broadcast from the heroes of the party on social networks. "I thought the era was over when they closed [...] It was sad, but it seemed that everything was still ahead. Today I clearly understand that the era collapsed yesterday with death [...], and I can no longer return that intoxicating fun that lasted for about five years from 2007 to 2012"; "Yes, it was a fun time that I will miss"; "The carefree past cannot be returned when the party was not just an excuse to drink or try out a new dope: you could find a job there, lose honor or innocently kiss [...]; "Now everyone will meet exclusively decorously and boringly at lectures, round tables and other workshops. There is no point in reasoning in the subjunctive mood, we must accept reality as it is, even if it is the point of no return." The reason for such statements is the closure of a favorite club, the death of a friend, or just another birthday, signaling that you have become one year older. However, behind all this there is an alarming question: "What will happen next?" - which remains unanswered in an extremely unfavorable economically and politically era. We can only dive deeper into our emotions and forget ourselves in them.

The series consists of graphic drawings (oil, coated paper). The use of images is agreed with the authors.