Elena Anosova’s artistic practice is based around work with the theme of boundaries in the context of various communities.
Elena mainly focuses on visual sociology, combining photography, installation, and archival research. This practice often develops around the concept of «archetypes, ” which was introduced by Carl Jung in 1919 as part of his research into the internal motivations of personality. According to Jung, people can be divided into several basic groups that describe the logic of the activity of their personality and the vector of its movement. Every year in mid-August, just before her birthday, Elena organizes an educational meeting or opens an exhibition as a curator or participant. In this way, she creates a visible mark in her life. «As a child, I was mainly worried about the question ‘Who am I? ’ and it was only later than the question «What is happening? ’ appeared. The introduction of the concept of the «archetype» in my practice helps me to see more clearly the metaconnections between phenomena, ” says the artist. The meeting at Garage will also focus on this concept.
The narrative will develop based on three works: the project Separation, about deformation of the personality in women’s prisons; Atlas of First Snow about surviving in extreme conditions in the Far North, based on Elena’s family history; and the series of portraits Changing Room, about how personal boundaries are crossed and how the psychology of obedience develops. Elena will discuss how to use knowledge about archetypes to think about the habit of dividing people into friend and foe and also how strongly the visual experience and associativeness of the imagination influence our ability to understand metaphors. In conclusion, the artist will propose discussing how lived experience transforms life aims and memory.
