November 19–24
Exhibitional and educational project ID
State Hermitage Youth Educational Center

Participants:
Nelo Akamatsu (Japan), Chōzumaki, 2016
Denis Patrakeev (Russia), The Third Side of the Coin, 2019
‍
Curated by Sofia Kudryavtseva (Russia), Anna Frants (Russia), Elena Gubanova (Russia), Victoria Ilyushkina (Russia)
‍
Palace square 6–8
The exhibition is entered from the Palace square through the museum zone of the General
Staff Building
Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun: 13:00 – 18:00
Wed, Fri: 13:00 – 21:00
Admission by tickets from the State Hermitage

Nelo Akamatsu (Japan)
Chōzumaki
sound installation, 2016

“Chōzumaki” is a sound installation which consists of glass vessels filled with water. The circulation of water creates a whirlpool, and the sparkling bubbles produce a sound that is clanging but delicate at the same time. These small sounds are amplified through the pipes and horns on the top of the glass vessels. The word “chōzumaki” was invented by the artist, and derived from two Japanese words, “chōzubachi” (手水鉢), stone washbasin, and “uzumaki” (渦巻), spiral. A spiral is one of the fundamental elements of the universe. Galaxies, typhoons, vines and snails all have fractal spiral forms, from the immense to the tiny. The stone washbasin in which guests wash their hands at a tea ceremony is a place of symbolic purification and a transition from the outer world and ordinary life to the inner sanctum of the ceremony. The sight and sound of the whirlpool will remind viewers of the boundary between the physical and psychological world.

Denis Patrakeev (Russia)
The Third Side of the Coin
installation, 2019

“The Third Side of the Coin” is a reflection on the seed’s image as a metaphor of personality. The seed hides in itself the future plant, a marvelous program, a potential of perfection. Thrown to the ground, alone, it has to transcend itself, to crack, to perish as a unit, to devote itself fully, to learn, to feel — and to believe in the existence of the sun and life on Earth. Feeding on earthly juices, minerals, it is designed to bring dirt to perfection. To marry the earthly with the heavenly. But in the modern world, the clash of technology and nature leads to a certain mimicry of concepts. The root is turned upside down and resembles a crown, the subterranean pretends to be earthly, the earthly to be heavenly. To truly understand what we are dealing with, we must free the object from ourselves, and stop seeing it only in relation to us. Then we will be able to see more.