Tuesday 16 February 2010

Kseniya Simonova

I found a link to this youtube video in my inbox from a family member- I didnt know what to expect but from watching it, it is a very moving piece, especially the ending where many contrasting emotions are brought up. I know its a lot to read before hend, but here's the information I was given about it- reading it will help to better understand Simonova's art.....

"This video shows the winner of 'Ukraine's Got Talent," Ksneniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table, showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch..

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about £75,000.
1.The scene begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then war planes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.

2.It is replaced by a woman's face crying. But then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again, war returns and Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears. She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown soldier.

This outdorr scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.

In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass saying goodbye.

The 'Great Patriotic War,' as it is calles in Ukraine, resulted in 1 in 4of the population being killed, with 8 to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.


quote from Simonova


"I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."



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