Boat
OfelyArt Residency, Khvoynoye village, 2026
The installation is built around a kayak that had been stored for many years in the workshop of Vilgeniy Melnikov. The boat was made by his friend with the intention of one day reaching this place by river. He traveled for four days along an impassable river, cutting a path through fallen trees and dense thickets. Along the way, he survived on dandelions, bark beetle larvae, and other gifts of nature.
The work is about a person capable of creating a path where no established route exists.
The kayak is made of thin plywood and canvas, covered with white paint that has peeled away over time. It is incredibly light, yet this did not prevent it from making its way through the fallen forests and obstacles of the river. In the installation, the kayak is placed in a drained pond and suspended two meters above the bottom, with river water contained inside the boat. Now it can continue to travel even in a place where there is no water.
The installation is built around a kayak that had been stored for many years in the workshop of Vilgeniy Melnikov. The boat was made by his friend with the intention of one day reaching this place by river. He traveled for four days along an impassable river, cutting a path through fallen trees and dense thickets. Along the way, he survived on dandelions, bark beetle larvae, and other gifts of nature.
The work is about a person capable of creating a path where no established route exists.
The kayak is made of thin plywood and canvas, covered with white paint that has peeled away over time. It is incredibly light, yet this did not prevent it from making its way through the fallen forests and obstacles of the river. In the installation, the kayak is placed in a drained pond and suspended two meters above the bottom, with river water contained inside the boat. Now it can continue to travel even in a place where there is no water.
Unseen Hands
Silno Residency, Derbent, 2025
Unseen Hands is an installation that brings together my fascination with kitchen spaces, my Dagestani heritage, and the concept of spacing from animation.
The work reflects on the invisible labor of women's domestic work, as well as my childhood memories of time spent in the kitchen. In Dagestani culture, the kitchen has traditionally been a deeply feminine space. Women often prepare meals, serve them to the men gathered in the living room, and then eat separately in the kitchen themselves. This tension between female and male spaces remains both a compelling subject of inquiry and a deeply sensitive issue in Dagestan.
In my memories, the kitchen is a place where genuine emotions could be expressed freely—a place to be dissatisfied, vulnerable, and authentic. It is a space of intimacy rather than display, of safety, and of sisterhood.
Unseen Hands is an installation that brings together my fascination with kitchen spaces, my Dagestani heritage, and the concept of spacing from animation.
The work reflects on the invisible labor of women's domestic work, as well as my childhood memories of time spent in the kitchen. In Dagestani culture, the kitchen has traditionally been a deeply feminine space. Women often prepare meals, serve them to the men gathered in the living room, and then eat separately in the kitchen themselves. This tension between female and male spaces remains both a compelling subject of inquiry and a deeply sensitive issue in Dagestan.
In my memories, the kitchen is a place where genuine emotions could be expressed freely—a place to be dissatisfied, vulnerable, and authentic. It is a space of intimacy rather than display, of safety, and of sisterhood.
