We have been living in uncertainty for so long that it is no longer perceived as a temporary state of the world — whether the world outside us or within us. Now it is not a duration, but a new quality that all matter has acquired — the very matter of which we ourselves and everything around us are made. The project by Marya Dmitrieva and Elena Nemkova captures this unknown and virtually invisible process of time transforming into space. To make it visible, the exhibition transports us to a strange point beyond the boundaries of physical coordinates — Peak of Uncertainty. It belongs to no one; it has neither a beginning nor an end, nor a coherent form. It is inhospitable, yet inhabited by traces of an unknown protagonist — who could turn out to be any one of us.
The artists’ works emerge from the gallery’s walls, floor, and ceiling. They shape this anomalous landscape while simultaneously preserving evidence of numerous attempts to find one’s bearings within it. Apparently, there were so many of them that traces of human activity in this area have turned into geological relics and are now indistinguishable from the natural landscape. The rigging ropes used in attempts to move “Merzlota” resemble the shoots of a rare plant, while the “Gown” made of climbing cord — abandoned by someone — echoes a tree crown. Someone’s efforts to cling to “Obval” (Russian translation of the word "Rockslide") are visible on the climbing holds ("Clue" sculpture series) — whether they are rocky ledges or the ribs of an unknown creature.
Such parallels between the works of the two artists emerged on their own — through attempts to connect with one another, through a slow evolution whose outcome is never known in advance. That is precisely why the exhibition does not provide us with answers, but leaves us alone with two beings born in this extraordinary landscape. The first is a bare brain that has cast off its burdensome torso. In its place, it has grown wire-like limbs so that future tectonic shifts will not catch it off guard. The second has retained its human form for now. Thanks to its suit, it can cling to any ledge and scale any slope. It understands the language of rocks and glaciers — a language we have yet to learn.
These two creatures were born of anomalous time and space, and thanks to it, they have learned to survive in extreme conditions. Perhaps they are the ones who will be able to pass through this peak and enter another dimension. However, whether that dimension will be habitable and whether new species will be able to adapt to it remains unknown.
Dmitry Belkin
