A Q&A with artist Pavel Otdelnov
Questions by Denis Stolyarov. Translated by Rachel South.
Translator’s note: 13 October 2022 will be the opening of Acting Out, the first solo exhibition in the UK by Russian artist Pavel Otdelnov. Acting Out presents a new series of works that offer a critical commentary on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe associated with the war in Ukraine. Otdelnov’s paintings reflect on how the identities of the Russian people are changing throughout the course of the war in Ukraine, both those who remain in the country and those who have managed to leave.
Otdelnov’s works have been widely shown in leading Russian and European galleries and we are proud to host his latest exhibition, which has been created specifically for Pushkin House’s historic premises. We are sharing a Q&A with Pavel Otdelnov about his role as a Russian artist in today’s world, the evolving Russian art scene following the invasion of Ukraine, and his upcoming exhibition at Pushkin House.
How appropriate is it to create art in the midst of a war? How do you perceive your cultural role as a Russian artist?
At the very beginning of the war, it was hard to find the motivation to do anything at all. Everything became meaningless. It was so painful to realise that there’s nothing you can do. Later on I regained my energy and faith in the ability to speak my mind, in part thanks to the exhibition Humanitet which is currently being held in Stockholm. It is dedicated to the antifacist resistance movement in Sweden, and all the artists involved have faith in the power of art. Now I am even more convinced that the work of artists is essential. War polarises and oversimplifies everything, it feeds hatred and destroys meaning. Art must, by all possible means, fight against this process – one of its most important purposes is to create a space for reflection and understanding.
Today it’s obvious why this is so important. How important would it have been, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to address the annexation of Poland and the Winter War of 1939 [topics which are still ignored in the official Russian narrative of the Second World War]? How important would it have been to see the aggression of the Axis Powers through the eyes of ordinary citizens – see the propaganda and misconceptions that characterised those times? It is so important to scrutinise those moments in history that people want to avoid thinking about, because it’s all too easy to look back at history and believe in your superiority and exceptionality, believe that you were on the right side. It’s so easy to use this attitude towards the past for short-term political benefit, and now we see the destructive side of this approach. Everything that gives us an alternative perspective is of the utmost importance – and art, above all, provides a platform for this.
Today, the role of a Russian artist is questioned from all sides. I understand that for many Ukrainians, I don’t have any right to speak – because I am Russian. For Russians who support the state’s actions and believe that “the whole world is against us”, I have no right to criticise my country. Europeans must be tired of conversations about the war and its underlying causes. Probably few people at all want to see an exhibition by a Russian artist, featuring such difficult topics and gloomy, even frightening, artwork. But it’s all I have left – the right to exist and to speak my mind.
How has the Russian art scene changed since the start of the war?
A huge number of artists have left Russia, not only because they fear persecution for protesting, but because the atmosphere there is suffocating and they are reluctant to pretend that everything is fine. Many of those who remain continue to make artistic statements, which are probably not very noticeable outside Russia – but you have to remember that media publicity can be very dangerous for an artist.
Right now, the photographer and musician Grisha Mumrikov is awaiting trial [he has been released from custody and is currently under house arrest] simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Artists are auctioning their works to support Grisha and his family – other arrested cultural workers have been supported in the same way. I try to help as much as I can as it creates a sense of solidarity, like we’re all in this together. Some of my acquaintances are volunteering to help refugees, which gives them the moral strength to continue.
What will your exhibition at Pushkin House be dedicated to, and why did you decide to exhibit in London?
I first came up with the idea for this exhibition last year, as a dedication to some interesting but lesser-known moments of the Cold War (for example, the history of Stanislav Petrov, who managed to prevent nuclear war in 1983).
I’ve since reconceptualised the exhibition as a conversation about the humanitarian catastrophe currently unfolding in Russia. It will be an exhibition about nostalgia and ressentiment [Nietzche’s notion of an instinctive psychological reaction to suffering, fuelled by a desire for revenge], about attempts to change the past, about my generation, my parents’ generation, and the younger generation. The exhibition’s name is a psychoanalytic term, referring to the re-enactment of past events as a way to express unconscious feelings. This is how I perceive the hysterical attempt of Russia’s rulers to revisit the past and reverse the outcome of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. I conceived some of these works in the first months after the invasion, and I hope that my exhibition will be, if not an explanation, then at least a new perspective on what is happening right now.
Are you planning to return to Russia?
Of course – my home, my parents, everything I love is in Russia. Before 24 February I never even considered living in another country. I was working on major projects related to Russian history, but I no longer have access to the archives, libraries and materials that I was working with. I hope that living in the UK will help me grow professionally – I’d love to work here for a while and get to know the British art scene better. I am really interested in many artists here, like Rachel Whiteread, Jeremy Deller and Antony Gormley. But I still hope to return to Russia and work there at least some of the time. It’s just hard to be certain about anything right now.
Image courtesy of the artist: Pathway. 130x100