INSTALLATION „WALL“: YURY SHTAPAKOV‘S DISCUSSION ON FREEDOM

On the 30th of July, 2019, on Tuesday, at 5 pm, the installation “Wall” by art resident Yury Shtapakov (Saint Petersburg, Russia) of Klaipeda Culture Communication Center (KCCC) was presented at „Dienovidis“ public garden (Didžioji Vandens str. / Tomo str., Klaipėda).

The theme of this year’s KCCC art residency is “Graphic Subordination”. The artists, who create here, are invited to freely reflect the city of Klaipeda, to create their personal creative routes, to turn their artistic projects into a cultural event that provokes the reaction of local community and engages it into this process.

Artist Yury Shtapakov, together with his colleague Dimitri Lurie and assistant Eva Sandoz, chose to create spatial graphics during their residency – his installation “Wall” corresponds with this year’s residency theme, but crosses the lines of traditional graphic expression and becomes a sculptural composition. The pattern of English word‘s „wall“ form, which encloses public garden‘s streams of passers-by, is not really a wall: made up of individual elements – like dolmens – it can be passed through.

With the help of his work of art, artist Y. Shtapakov analyzes the theme of freedom – and not necessarily politically, although there have been associations with the Berlin Wall while creating the project. „Why the Wall?“ – replied the artist when he was asked to comment. -Because it is connected with the issues of personal freedom, the relationship between man and society, and with the restrictions we create for ourselves. This installation can be interpreted in different ways. But my most important idea is the idea of freedom. When a person has a problem and can’t find a way to solve it, when all doors seem to be closed, that is when he has to exit through the window or look for some other non-standard way out. So my wall – is the idea of a way out, a way out into another dimensions, out of something closed, for example, when you think everything is so bad and at that time you find a way to look at the situation differently, from another perspective, then you realize that nothing catastrophic has happened. ”

According to the artist, gaps between the letters of the installation is like a materialized space, which allows us to overcome an obstacle in a non-standard way. At the same time, it is an interpretation of personal space. “People live in a community, so they have created rules and restrictions for cohabitation. We all follow these rules and try to adhere them, as it is taught in the Bible. But apart from the Ten Commandments, there are also standards of conduct. In developed countries, like Europe, personal space is very important for people and it cannot be violated. In more primitive communities, a person can tap stranger on the shoulder or otherwise touch him or her. I prefer that noone can interfere with my personal space. Unfortunately , it happens quite often, so I’m looking for the ways to protect it, even when I am with people who are close to me. ”

The place of installation – right on the path – can upset or provoke many people. This was original author’s idea: “I, as an artist, am interested in provocation, both in personal relationships and in creative work. I monitor reactions of the audience and evaluate them. On the other hand, I try to engage the audience in the discussion with the help of my interactive work of art. I would like this installation to become a base for expressing one’s thoughts, one’s position on freedom, restraints, what bothers them, what they like and what they dislike. Therefore, I will not specifically paint the material that the wall is made of – it will be like an unfinished object made from the particle board (MDP). I suggest to make a full use of this wall as a notice board – to hang your ads, draw some signs or graffiti. I would very much appreciate if every passer-by could leave a message on that wall to someone – maybe to God, maybe to a buddy, maybe to neighbors or future generations … So this is my goal – that these few objects that create the installation would be totally covered with ads, drawings and words and doomed to the effects of time.” explains the artist about the installation „Wall“.

Yury Shtapakov is a creator of a wide range of experimental graphics and installations, and his works can be seen in the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia), the National Museum in Krakow (Krakow, Poland), Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; the artist’s handmade books are preserved at libraries of Alexandria (Egypt), Riga (Latvia), Saxony State (Dresden, Germany) and Berlin National Library (Germany).

The KCCC art residency project is partly funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.