Artist: Andrey and Aleksey Kulibin
Title: Medusa XXI, The Epoch series
Year: 2021
Medium: Painting, Sculpture
Style: Figurative Art, Concept art
Materails: Mixed media; Wood (oak veneer, birch plywood), baguette frame, mirror material, flock fabric, acrylic paint
Height: 112 cm
Width: 112 cm
Depth: 8 cm
Weight: 15 kg
Description and information about the work:
The text you see on Medusa XXI’s canvas was taken from real newsfeeds of BBC, CNN and other major media. The series is limited to a total of 21 artworks, and in every new copy of Medusa XXI the newsfeed will reflect an actual agenda. In such a way each of 21 copies will be a time capsule. The material used in the area of Medusa’s eyes is Black Mirror. This element is used in each artwork of The Epoch series (David XXI, Zeus XXI, Atlas XXI, Medusa XXI, Demeter XXI and Afrodita XXI). Black Mirror is a reference to smartphones’ and other gadgets’ black screens. Yellow is a classic emoji color. Our goal was to find a combination of color and material that would be appealing and evoke associations with a state of addiction or seductiveness. After a long search and a number of experiments we chose flock – a special fabric that consists of thousand of tiny spines forming a soft surface. Flock surfaces are visually compelling and tempting to touch. Introducing a flock element was meant to build a visual and tactile communication between a beholder and the artwork. Medusa XXI has a yellow visual element, embodied in 3D pixels, Gorgon’s integrated serpentine hair. This artwork also features a new material – a wire coated in black flock.
Exhibition history:
The Holy Art gallery, London (September 20 - October 19, 2022)