Citizen activated space — Museum of Skateboarding is the third installment of Calvert 22 Foundation’s Power and Architecture exhibition programme. Newly commissioned by Calvert 22 Foundation, the installation by Russian artist Kirill Savchenkov explores the individual’s participation in the activation of public space through skateboarding.
Museum of Skateboarding is a mixed media installation that considers skateboarding as a method of understanding the human body, memory and consciousness, and as a visceral way of exploring and reflecting on the post-Soviet residential suburbs of Moscow. The project studies the secret language of skateboarding, illustrating how certain architectural interventions or objects can be understood through the sport and related practices.
The installation consists of a video projection showing the skateboarder’s perspective of urban space, photographs, artefacts and archive materials including a module of a crossfit trainer, a replica of a perfect skating spot, metallic and plexiglass boards with artist’s drawings and a study guide.
Born in 1987 in Moscow, Kirill Savchenkov grew up in the post-Soviet high-rises on the outskirts of the city. Preoccupied by the transition of growing up, his work explores themes of memory, conflict and the identity of the post-Soviet city. Savchenkov uses skateboarding as a method of understanding the human body, but also as a way to control the environment around him. Savchenkov’s practice is informed by a set of ‘mantras’, structuring the bodily experience of reading the city, the reassignment of space through skateboarding, the creation of a personal cartography, social expertise on the street and mental practices. He explores the psychology of space, using the physical experience of skateboarding to achieve a ‘meditative sense of movement’.
Through to 11th September 2016 at Calvert22 Calvert22.org
PLUS Don’t miss this Film screening at the House of Vans
To accompany Museum of Skateboarding, Calvert 22 Foundation has joined forces with the House of Vans to present this poetic documentary about modern youth in post-Soviet Georgia.
When the Earth Seems to Be Light Georgia / Germany, 2015, dir. Salome Machaidze, Tamuna Karumidze and David Meskhi
A coming-of-age documentary about a group of young skaters, artists and musicians in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, a city of contradictions and upheavals. The film provides a close look at the rich world of teenage dreams and sentiments – lost in search of non-existent spots of freedom and romantic states of mind – and at the growing pains of the post-Soviet generation. Thursday 25th August 2016, doors: 6:45 pm Screening: 7:00 pm
More Details houseofvanslondon.com
