Ksenia Galiaeva

25/05/13 – 29/06/13

Ksenia Galiaeva is interested in the time duration theory of the French philosopher Henri Bergson, where duration, ‘inner time’, is the opposite of measurable time. Duration is a continuous flow of ageing combined with the continuous growth of memory of a person’s past, with no dividing line between the past and the present. Both duration and memory are deeply embedded in perception. Galiaeva is also fascinated by the way memories change through repetition: how family stories can grow to mythical proportions, how their colour and meaning changes through time and personal experience, and how one can influence and steer memory in different directions.

In her recent series of photographs, Ksenia Galiaeva leads us back again to her familiar settings with her parents and their dog in the colorful Russian surroundings of their summerhouse. They are the characters through which Galiaeva investigates the flow of time, continuity and memory. By using her knowledge of the family micro-cosmos she actually enables herself to project her ideas onto her characters.

During the exhibition two thematic dinners will be held by Galiaeva in collaboration with Otark, a food collective based in Antwerp (otarkproductions.blogspot.be). ‘Autobiographical Fiction’ will give a taste of the narrative of identity, family myths and the ego of perception. In the words of Ksenia, autobiography is a tool to give life meaning. ‘After Eight’ will be about looking in the dark – the role doubt plays in one’s imagination and the way it triggers memory to produce associations. Ksenia Galiaeva has a new blog-like website dedicated to those subjects: www.ichmich.net.

Ksenia Galiaeva was born in 1976 in Pskov, Russia. She moved to the Netherlands to study at the Academy for Art and Design in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and received her MFA at Post Sint Joost, Breda. In 2010 she was a resident at Leipzig International Art Programme and in 2012 at Arts Initiative Tokyo. Ksenia Galiaeva now lives and works in Amsterdam, NL and Antwerp, BE. She teaches at the photography department of the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. This year Ksenia Galiaeva was longlisted for the Prix de Rome. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, amongst others: Unter dem Baum, ICM Haarlem (solo); Point de Vue, 200 jaar Kunstakademie ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch; Proeftuin, G.A.N.G. Arnhem. Her work was also part of the travelling exhibition Voth, in Yaroslavl Art Museum, Krasnoyarsk Museum Centre,NCCA Jekaterinburg, Moscow MOMA – RU; Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch – NL.
Artist’s website: www.kseniagaliaeva.com

The thematic dinners will take place on June 20th (After Eight) and June 27th (Autobiographical Fiction’). Walk in from 18:30, dinner starts at 19:00. Price: €20.

On the occasion of the show a new edition will be released with 7 special photographs, edition 20+2AP