At the end of January, the International Technology Exhibition AGROS EXPO 2024 was held in Moscow. At the event, the Krasnoyarsk agricultural holding “Dary Malinovki”, instead of traditional stands with products, presented the art project “Where Life is Born”.
The art project appeared thanks to the efforts of artists, sculptors, photographers and videographers from all over Russia, as well as food specialists from the Dary Malinovka company. The main goal of the exhibition is to tell the audience about how familiar food products actually appear and to inspire agricultural workers to new achievements.
At the exhibition, artists showed their vision of the interaction between man and nature in different ways. For example, Tanya Klyat in her works demonstrated the delicate balance that is important at all stages of the origin of life. The installation “Eggs” is based on a metaphor for the development of all living things, passing through key stages of metamorphosis.
Artist Anastasia Hirk in her work “Volume of Fertility” created a small copy of the structure of black soil. The composition embodies the richness of the most fertile soil in Russia, which retains the memory of all the events that once took place on this land.
The exhibition also featured art objects created using audio, video and AI technologies. For example, artists Zhenya Sharvina and Liliya Balasanova used generative animation to reveal the connection between the micro and macro worlds, which unites all the processes of the origin of life - from a small cell to an adult organism.
In addition, the exhibition was decorated with works of talented sculptors. Thus, Anna Onishchenko expressed admiration for the work of field workers. The Field Worker sculpture, created from a single serpentine stone, embodies the strength and forward momentum necessary to transform soggy soil into a fertile field.
And during the pandemic and self-isolation, artist Irina Alpatova photographed the chestnut tree every day from the window of her house. While the human world stood still, the tree continued to grow, no matter what. In Irina’s work, the chestnut symbolizes the endless continuation and strength of life.
“As a rule, at agricultural exhibitions, companies present plant varieties and bring booklets with products. But we consciously decided to abandon this and make our pavilion a place where souls meet. We received very warm feedback. Some visitors admitted that they had no idea how agriculture actually works, how complex and at the same time important the work of people in the fields is.
It was especially pleasant to hear the opinion of employees of agricultural enterprises. Many of them have worked in the industry all their lives, but have never perceived their work as art. The exhibition greatly helped people rethink the value of what they do every day.”, said Anna German, co-owner and director of the Dary Malinovka agricultural holding.
Фphoto by Ruslan Altimirov