Veronica Smirnoff British, b. 1979
The Red Carpet, 2013
Egg tempera on wood panel
40 x 90 cm
Made up of three panels.
Made up of three panels.
Copyright The Artist
The red carpet is an ode to winter - the whiteness that covers the squalor and destitution. Central to the composition is the statue facing its back to us -...
The red carpet is an ode to winter - the whiteness that covers the squalor and destitution.
Central to the composition is the statue facing its back to us - it is a statue of a young pioneer. The statue becomes the counterpoint and the witness of the wintery scene.
Amongst ‘chrushiovkas’, the five storey 60s council houses, a somewhat ordinary and yet ambiguous happening unfolds - there is a bonfire, but the people surrounding the fire are suspiciously proactive, which doesn’t suggest the idleness of leisurely passing time.
The final panel of the triptych depicts a gang of teenage boys carrying the red carpet.
Reasoning might be trivial - it’s what people do in the winter - clean the rugs outdoors, but the ceremonial looking procession and the symbolism of the colour red hints at a less innocent endeavour, ever so current and heartfelt at the moment.
The overall nonchalant but menacing sentiment seems to prevail in the familiar scene of the altered everyday reality.
The statue of the pioneer is reminiscent of a frozen figure, like many who freeze in the minus temperatures. It feels like these parallels are apt in the light of war and the energy crisis. I would like to save the pioneer and those that are freezing this winter.
Central to the composition is the statue facing its back to us - it is a statue of a young pioneer. The statue becomes the counterpoint and the witness of the wintery scene.
Amongst ‘chrushiovkas’, the five storey 60s council houses, a somewhat ordinary and yet ambiguous happening unfolds - there is a bonfire, but the people surrounding the fire are suspiciously proactive, which doesn’t suggest the idleness of leisurely passing time.
The final panel of the triptych depicts a gang of teenage boys carrying the red carpet.
Reasoning might be trivial - it’s what people do in the winter - clean the rugs outdoors, but the ceremonial looking procession and the symbolism of the colour red hints at a less innocent endeavour, ever so current and heartfelt at the moment.
The overall nonchalant but menacing sentiment seems to prevail in the familiar scene of the altered everyday reality.
The statue of the pioneer is reminiscent of a frozen figure, like many who freeze in the minus temperatures. It feels like these parallels are apt in the light of war and the energy crisis. I would like to save the pioneer and those that are freezing this winter.
