Calculation 2009 | kadyrova EN

CALCULATION

2008 – 2009

On the cusp of 2008, anticipating the impending global economic downturn, Kadyrova began creating a series of sculptures that became a sort of portrait of the economic crisis that erupted in full force in the autumn of that year.

The project Fruit, which consists of four freestanding elements, addresses the endless redistribution of economic resources occurring in contemporary society. The largest piece of the composition is half a fruit, followed by a quarter of the fruit, and the smallest pieces are empty rinds. Modeled on a citrus fruit, Kadyrova’s Fruit is presented to the viewer in unexpected black and white tones. According to the artist, this monochromatic binary was chosen as a symbol of businessmen’s dress code. Thus Kadyrova concretizes the conversation about economic problems, focusing on their humanitarian aspect. The symbolic “pulp” of the half-fruit is faced in mirrored tile, which allows the viewer to see his/her reflection and recognize that he/she is among the exploited human resources. And it is still possible to see one’s reflection in the half-fruit, despite the fragmentation of the sculpture’s facets. The quarter-fruit reflects even less human presence, and the empty rinds contain no mirrored pulp – they are lined with white tile. Chewed up in the continuous pursuit of economic growth, the person entirely vanishes from sight, becoming merely an easily accessible and easily replaceable resource.

The second part of the series Calculation consists of tile sculptures that resemble various kinds of graphs, diagrams and visual schemes displaying – with a noticeable degree of irony – indicators of exorbitant economic growth. In a black-and-white triptych the growth rate rises to such proportions that it completely falls off the charts. Furthermore, Kadyrova assigns the “role” of the collapsed graph line to a piece of granite on the floor beneath the tile triptych. This piece of granite, which is far too heavy, could not be placed physically on the vertical surface of the sculpture. This incongruity of the material and weight emphasizes the absurdity of the pursuit of profit, which cannot increase infinitely. Another graph is a massive square tile that serves as a symbol of the unstable economy – it stands on one of its corners, ready to tip over and fall at any moment. The graph’s bright red line is disputable: if the tile falls to one side, then the line will point to growth, if to the other side – to decline. The other sculptures in the series also follow this logic of absurd growth: pie charts with segments that enlarge and exceed the circumference of the graph.

While demonstrating an undeniable social commentary, Kadyrova’s sculptures look like three-dimensional models of the Suprematist compositions of the early-20th-century Russian avant-garde; so they not only enter into debate on the problems of contemporary society, but they also recall the succession of artistic movements in art history.

PIE CHART 01 2008–2009 Ceramic tile, cement, polyurethane foam 61 × 41 × 22 Photo: Andrew Yagubsky, Alexei Lerer

PIE CHART 02 2008–2009 Ceramic tile, cement, polyurethane foam 40 × 40 × 25 Photo: Andrew Yagubsky, Alexei Lerer

GRAPHS 2008–2009 Porcelain tile, granite, cement, polyurethane foam Рор-up project, Kyiv

BALANCE 2008–2009 Porcelain tile, ceramic tile, cement, polyurethane foam 102 × 33 × 102 Photo: Andrew Yagubsky, Alexei Lerer

DIAGRAMS 2008–2009 Porcelain tile, cement, polyurethane foam 103 × 90 × 44, 53 × 126 × 53, 27 × 27 × 6 Photo: Andrew Yagubsky, Alexei Lerer