Castle in the Air

Bread crumb, natural molding process, red velvet fabric

2021

It was impossible to discern behind the propaganda grandeur of utopian architectural projects at what cost throughout the Soviet period the mythology of the triumphant victories of socialism, the creation of a new system of values, and the provision of the material and technical base for the construction of communism were achieved. Passing like a red thread through the three main Soviet architectural trends, they could clearly illustrate the aspirations, hopes and dreams that excited the minds at one stage or another of the existence of the USSR. But being unfinished or unfinished for one reason or another, these ghosts of a bygone era personify the utopianism of ideologemes that have not been able to withstand the test of time.

In collaboration with Stanislav Ponyatovsky.

Castle in the Air. Lesha Pavlov | photography

Grandiose stumps are buried in a shimmering dune of red velvet — Tatlin’s Tower, the Palace of Soviets in Moscow and the House of Soviets in Kaliningrad. This projects of utopic giants remained on paper like grandiose ghosts. The plasticity of the bread crumb used as a material is organic to the task of oblivion — the silhouettes of concrete buildings are melting, covered with mold and falling apart before our eyes.

Oksana Budulak