Andrey Gordasevich

Frozen form

Andrei Gordasevich

Frozen Form

As part of the ‘Photobiennale-2020’ the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow presents ‘Frozen Form’, the new project by contemporary Russian photographer Andrei Gordasevich.

“The photographer is a transmitter,” says Gordasevich. “His task is to show an image, but convey more than the image itself. The subject matter is just an outer shell, and ideally the viewer should sense this and try to open it. When taking photographs I feel an affinity with the theory of chaos and random events: anything can happen at any moment. For me photography is the means to understand something, or at least pose a question. Overall there is a feeling that the frames we make cannot really belong to us.”

The ‘Frozen Form’ project comprises interdisciplinary artistic research based on a synthesis of science and art, where Gordasevich simultaneously takes the role of photographer, scientist and artist. ‘It is easiest to appreciate the beauty of a particular form when it is static,’ the photographer says. ‘And the most static form that a living being takes is in death. I photographed exhibits at the Zoological Museum of Moscow University under natural light, and then extricated them — I removed everything else from the image, and in so doing, attempted to give these beings a new life. Separated from their test tubes, surroundings, and ghost reflections, they enter a new dimension, in which their form comes to the fore. As well as being of scientific benefit, these exhibits demonstrate to us the elegance of these creatures, and serve as a reminder of the finite existence of all living beings. They may be viewed not only as an object of study, but one of contemplation.’

Andrei Gordasevich is focused on documentary and street photography. He has travelled extensively, with photo shoots in China, India, Cuba, Europe and the small towns of Russia. Gordasevich is a frequent participant at the international months of photography in Moscow, the ‘Photobiennale’ and ‘Fashion and Style in Photography’, and also the ‘Photovacation festival’ (Bulgaria), as well as being nominated several times in the ‘Silver Camera’ competition for the best Moscow photoreportage. He has participated in the ‘Russian Vision of Europe’ and ‘Photo Chronicle of Russia’ projects at the Moscow House of Photography. The photographer has been awarded prizes by the magazines Ogonyok and Persona. There have been solo exhibitions of his work in various years: ‘Hill Tribes of Thailand’ (2002), ‘The Other Side of China’ (2004), ‘Calligraphy’ (2005), ‘Tutaev’ (2008), ‘Cuba: Weathered Signs’ (2009), ‘Couples. Paris. 2004-2009’ (2010), etc. Gordasevich was the first photographer to author a solo exhibition in Russia with the Leica Company: ‘14 Pieces of India’ (2009). Gordasevich conducts master classes and seminars for the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, the Leica Akademie Russia, RGGU (Russian State University for Humanities), MGU (Moscow State University), Canon, Panasonic, the School of Visual Arts, Academy of Classic Photography, PROLAB, etc. He also organises Photography-with-Music performances (live music improvisation to accompany photographic slide shows) with Alex Rostotsky and Yuri Parfenov (‘Time When Fish Think of the Past’, ‘Splashes’), Sergei Letov, Maral Yakshieva and Neil Leonard (‘Chain of Shiva’). The site of the photographer: www.gordasevich.ru

The artist would like to thank the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University for providing the photo opportunity, and chief curator Anna Viktorovna Tikhomirova for consultation.