For six months, the artists studied Electrical steel. Why Electrostal? Firstly, one of the participants of the project lives here, who became a guide to the world of her hometown. Secondly, the familiar and the new are naturally intertwined in the Electric steel, which is typical for small agglomerations in the Russian Federation.

The word Elektrostal evokes very strong industrial associations. The modern image of industrial cities was formed in the early 1990s - and is primarily associated with the decline of the economy and rampant crime. Some project participants were even afraid to come to this city, although later they were pleasantly surprised that it was not as scary as it seemed in Elektrostal.

Our journey started from the Kursk railway station. After a few stations, the borders of the big city and the region were almost erased, and we found ourselves in the world of the Stalinist Empire, industrial zones and typical high-rise buildings. At the food court of the local shopping center, we divided the Electrical Steel into sections and decided who and what would shoot here.

This project exists between two polar points of entry into the space of the Electrical Installation. The first point is the territory of the conditional Calm (the city was called this way until 1928). In Dmitry Romanov's photographs, we see overgrown areas of Khrushchev, sometimes reminding us of village streets and courtyards. The second point is Electrostal as a place where nuclear fuel is produced. In the works of Svetlana Sokovikova, we have a post-apocalyptic vision of a technological accident from the recent past.

Most of the participants in this project use the method of direct photography, which is based on a critical view of reality. The horizontal perception of time and phenomena in society, as well as the departure from stereotypes imposed by mass culture, demonstrates to the viewer the world on a completely different level.

The key stage in this visual project is cooperation with a local museum institution, which always represents a certain narrative of time. The location of objects in the showcases, objects on the walls, texts in the exposition indicates the understanding and perception of the place in which a person lives.

The exhibition "Knot" has become a collective statement in order to briefly present their view of the familiar and native. This space is so close to everyone who was born in Russia, and at the same time so far away — although only an hour's drive from Moscow.

The "Half-life of the Universe" is the most ordinary garage in which my acquaintance with the underground of the city of Elektrostal began this spring. It got its name from the guys who gathered in it together with their friends to just have a great time. From March to May, I came to the "Decay" on Saturday evenings and met completely different people there, many of whom later became my good friends. After sunset, various things were happening in the garage. Punks and bikers came to listen to rock. Young people and lovers of psychedelic practices were waiting for electronic music and dancing, and on some days everyone gathered at an improvised table for a tea ceremony. Quickly enough, I went beyond the night party and continued my journey through the Electrical Station. My new acquaintances gladly took me to visit, showed me interesting places and told me about themselves.
This series is a small story about some part of the Elektrostal underground and people who really love life.

2021