Urban space installation: My Hut is on the Edge

 

Katerina Kouzmitcheva’s exhibition My Hut Is on the Edge takes place as part of the 7th Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial in two trams of Tallinn named after Anne Veski and Eri Klas, as well as at Salme tram stop. The exhibition transpires from the shortcomings in social awareness, as perceived by the artist. According to Kouzmicheva, there can be many personal reasons behind the prevailing indifference, yet at the level of society, this kind of stoicism spreads similarly to an epidemic and is amplified by everyone’s contributions.

At Salme tram stop and on the handrails of the trams are displayed staged photographs inspired by figures of speech that are used in different languages to denote indifference and not caring. The title of the exhibition is a direct translation from a Russian expression that originally referred to living on the outskirts of the village and distancing oneself from what was going on in the village centre. Over time the meaning progressed from a physical location to referring to a mental and emotional state, as well as drawing boundaries to one’s capacity to care. Kouzmitcheva’s photographs are framed by newspaper clippings on subjects that people prefer to turn a blind eye to.

The exhibition My Hut Is on the Edge summons the empathy of the passengers using public transportation. The quotations on the backs of the chairs about trending political and activist issues have been collected by the artist from Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians living in Wrocław and Warsaw. Kouzmitcheva invites passengers of public transportation to symbolically sit in someone else’s chair with the aim of understanding what shapes the social attitudes, behaviours and (non)engagement in active citizenship of people around us.

Katerina Kouzmitcheva is a Belarusian photographer, based in Wroclaw, Poland. She works at the intersection of documentary and art photography, exploring the themes of human interactions and political systems, identity-constructive memory, issues of feminine gender roles. Kouzmitcheva has graduated from the Academy of Documentary and Art Photography Fotografika in Saint Petersburg and holds a master’s degree in fine arts from the Academy of Art and Design in Wroclaw, Poland where she also currently works as an assistant in Photographic Imaging Technique Studio. She has been the winner of both TIFA and BIFA awards and she has been granted the Gaude Polonia scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland. Kouzmitcheva’s works have been published in photography magazines, such as Bird in Flight, Monovisions, Dodho and others.

Special thanks: AS Tallinna Linnatransport (TLT), Kati Ots and Tallinn Strategic Management Office, Taavi Rekkaro, Flo Kasearu.