Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov blurs the conventional boundaries between human and non-human in his works. The protagonists of the painting are strange creatures that attempt to imitate "the other". Are they humans wearing animal masks or animals wearing human masks? This question remains open, but
the very possibility and need for categorization is called into question. The issue of otherness — so acutely felt in transitional zones — comes to the forefront in this work. These creatures are no longer humans, yet they are not yet animals — and vice versa. By trying on different
masks, these creatures seem to be sorting through identities, striving to conform to social norms.

In Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov's artistic practice, masks become not only an integral part of
performances, but also a distinct object, which also occurs on his canvases. These masks convey different emotions and impulses, while also serving as a means of hiding and protection. They represent a person's response to society's demands and expectations. In this context, the concept of the “false face” by American sociologist Erving Goffman — a surface
that makes a person readable and controllable — becomes key.

(c) Anna Mayskaya, Research Assistant of Anna Nova Gallery

Erving Goffman’s idea of the “false face” clarifies the cruelty of this arrangement. Public order is preserved when everyone recognizes the performance yet agrees not to expose it. The mask becomes a shared pact and Fedotov-Fedorov pushes this pact toward a sculptural problem. What does it mean to live as an image others require you to maintain?

What does it mean when the face is not simply an expression but a social contract? When “identity” becomes the maintenance of a surface, the body’s interior is not liberated, it is eclipsed.

(c) Sungah Serena Choo, Independent Curator