Ilja Jakovlev

"Folklore is an extremely important element in the formation of our identity - be it
geographical, cultural or historical. And although folklore is often figurative and cannot
be used to reflect the lives and traditions of our ancestors like historical chronicles, it
is also not based solely on fictional creatures and stories that did not exist ever
happened.
Folklore is a voluminous, complex, and diverse collective code of national memory, in
which once enduring views and associations are overlaid with layers of embellishments,
metamorphoses, and personifications. So it can be said that the devil always appears in
the older legends as a kind of tempter, and only later as an arrogant and harmful
character who himself practically does not cause any harm.
In my exhibition, I decided to rethink that aspect of folklore, which remains unchanged
in different cultures and mostly in the Russian language and therefore sinks into
oblivion, losing its relevance. I do not plan a rebirth of folk heritage or a deep scientific
study, but rather I want to translate or retransmit it through the prism of contemporary
art, whose task is to reflect what is happening.
Right now, I see young artists around me paying attention to their origins, looking for
new inspiration. So did the Pre-Raphaelites, as well as Picasso by searching for true
forms in Stone Age cave paintings. So we return to the evil spirits, the dark stairwells,
the dying culture of the villages, the bottomless wells, the apple orchards, the old
scary men watching from the ancient icons.
 
Text: Ilja Jakovlev
Curator: Ilja Jakovlev