About the Exhibition:
The private viewing of the solo exhibition ‘I’m not comfortable here. I know nobody. My friends and I will be going’ by German Orekhov, Moscow-based artist and 2nd year student of the Photography, Video, Sculpture Studio, took place on January 15 at 7 pm.
The crisis in the contemporary rave culture in Russia is directly linked to infinitely complicated relationships – interactions between agents of those shaping it, and never-ending interventions conducted by police goons and planted activists. When the ‘cancelled shows’ map is freely available, when the parliament holds ‘round-table discussions’ with rappers, who are invited to New Year shows, and the rest of the time the State Duma spouts veiled calls to check all individuals for ‘extremism…’ In the meantime, E centre’s staff Google the term itself. Excessively blurred legal lines mean that any individual can be deprived of the ability to use banks or get a job, can get on the list of individuals and corporations that are known as involved in extremist activities or terrorism (as I’m writing this, the list contains 8,798 names of individuals). The clandestine culture that is characterized by apolitical views of its members still enters the common area of politics (even if it says differently), which undermines the security of its hangars and plants it initially chose as havens free from governmental control. In 2018 police officers meet musicians as they get off the train, take them in handcuffs to the nearest police station and then release them after a few hours (what, what for, why – nobody will answer these questions). Therefore, all these processes below and above us force the contemporary Russian rave community into the atmosphere of constant fear, apathy and distrust. As my friend tells me: musicians will soon have to pay themselves for their performances (hoping that their audience will manage to buy as much shitty booze in a local bar as possible), and people who want to listen to them will have to queue for ages and then face Neanderthal bouncers, who will empty your bags and throw away your water bottles, suggesting you buy water in a local bar at the price of beer, and nobody will guarantee that major stars will actually be there today, and that you won’t be searched by our heroic police officers using truncheons as ‘arguments.’ I’ve never told you ‘no.’ I’ve just informed you that this is how it is.’ Unknown man