In English language, the word
“reflexion” has an array of mean-
ings related directly to the base
concept. In relation to the shape,
its first and foremost meaning is
a reflection, a gleam or a shadow.
It is not by accident that “Agatha”
by Gregory Orekhov, the sculpture
made of stainless steel, became
the centerpiece that sets the
tone for the whole exposition; its
brightly polished surface reflects
in a whimsical, yet recognizable
way ceremonial “portraits” of all
those who inhabit the Absolute
Nursery. Those portraits are exe-
cuted in an academic style remi-
niscent of masterpieces by Titian
and Velasquez. The tumbler toy
represents everything but itself,
it doesn’t have its own identity and
thanks to its design that allows the
sculpture to sway back and forth
it brings forward the question of
instability. “Agatha” can be viewed
as a rather paradoxical interpre-
tation of “A Worker and a Kolkhoz
Woman” sculpture. What Mukh-
inа shows as an impulsive move-
ment towards the future becomes
in Orekhov’s sculpture an act of
balancing itself in the present.
Besides, references to the reflec-
tion in the “mirror of time” become
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pretty obvious; chronologically, the
exhibition covers the time-period
that can be generally referred to
as “the Soviet childhood” (rang-
ing from Father Frost (Russian
version of Santa Claus) made of
paper mache and placed under the
Christmas tree starting from the
post-war times to Rubik’s snake,
best-seller of mid‑1980-s and one
of a few pop-culture artifacts of
the socialist camp that was pop-
ular worldwide, transformed into
a toy dog).
Another definition of the word
is contemplation, meditation and
introspection. The exhibition
invites us to think about the exis-
tential problem of cycles, turning
adults back into children that are
once again facing familiar objects
from their childhood. In this case,
personal aspect becomes impor-
tant as it helps perceive things
through the eyes of a child that
sees his/her adult reflection in toys
(and on the post-Soviet space this
cathartic effect of recognition is
rather common).
Here, it seems appropriate
to mention another meaning of
the word “ref lexion” — reproof,