All the World

Rulers, 2023–2024 

Digital photo, lenticular printing, 120×30 cm, 3 pieces

Photo panoramas with a tilt card effect depict autumn in the tundra and resemble school rulers. Autumn is hightime for fishing, hunting, and berry picking in anticipation of winter. It’s also back-to-school season, and on September 1st, a helicopter takes children to boarding schools. One of the two panorama images shows tundra from a helicopter. The second image is taken from water — it’s a kind of autumn that children won’t see because they’ll spend it at school. The shifting image on the ruler marks that it’s impossible to reconcile these two perspectives. Numerous imperceptible changes completely transform the picture, just as the modern rules step by step affect the traditional way of life.

Inside the Soft Gold, 2023–2024 

Digital print, 16 stripes, 87 sq. m

Elena Anosova created a seamless texture from photographs of sable skulls collected by hunters. Sable fur, Yamal’s “soft gold, » was only needed for trade with the outside world: it poorly retains heat but sells well. The print is applied on the columns, which turn out to be the pillars of our world. One must stop and take a closer look to see the bones on them. Everyone can see something of their own, whether it’s turtles, whales, or sables.

Rulers and Inside the Soft Gold by Elena Anosova were created in 2023–2024 as part of an expedition to Yamal and featured in the exhibition All the World (curated by Zhenya Chaika in September 2023 — March 2024 at Polaris Art Residence).