On October 12, “Me and My Ecological Alter Ego,” the exhibition by artist Sergey Borisenko, opened at the art space LOFT (Zhukovsky). Borisenko works in ecological minimalism, combining traditional graphics, ecological themes, and performative self-positioning.
The exhibition featured 15 works by the artist created over the past several years. Colleagues and like-minded individuals of Borisenko also participated, including artists Irina Artistova, Sasha Chernov, Oleg Zavodyan and Tamara Novaya, who presented their digital and analogue works. This intimate exhibition is a statement from a small group of contemporary artists concerned about the issues of the modern world and confident in the need for artists to articulate their values and constructive proposals to society and future generations.
The presented works, created in various techniques and mediums, reveal a wide range of themes and issues and represent an attempt to formulate a polyphonic vision of the world that the influence of the Anthropocene will forever change. According to the concept of the exhibition, the artist is a fragile figure who has chosen to take responsibility in an area where, seemingly, artists are devoid of any power.
The unique and unusual works of Sergey Borisenko are small graphic canvases featuring compact abstract objects, sometimes accompanied by inscriptions and glitch artefacts. The artist operates in a complex cross-media manner that blurs the line between handcraft and graphic editing, personal and anonymous presence or absence. Each of his works is an intricate, multilayered riddle that requires careful deciphering and perceptual immersion. On the first level, in terms of narrative, the thematic foundation of the works leans towards post-minimalism on one hand and towards a particular type of mystery characteristic of the absurd and non-semiotic textuality of visual art on the other. On the second level, in terms of concept, the works challenge us as objects created from recycled materials, yet simultaneously placed in a space of gallery sterility that demands quality, purity, and capitalist novelty. On the third level, in terms of the ethical statement, the works force us to question whether such clever and professional pieces require a particularly hyper-empathetic type of viewer and how well we match this expectation. Borisenko’s works are dizzying, piercing, and deafening.
