Artist: Marina Razheva
Date: 2003
Type: Performance
Performer: Vladimir Razhev
Location: Iset River embankment, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Work description
On the riverbank, a penguin plays a wooden recorder. Beside him, a small crystal vessel containing round fish-oil capsules rests on a napkin. Herrings are arranged in a semicircle in front of him.
The Story
Lullaby for the River was created for VKL/VYKL, a mini-festival of performances and actions in the urban environment, held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 11 June 2003. The festival was organized by the Yekaterinburg branch of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts to present the first issue of a magazine devoted to contemporary art in the Urals.
Instead of presenting the magazine within gallery walls, the organizers invited artists featured in its pages to make works in the city. The festival followed a defined route through the urban cultural landscape, bringing contemporary art into public space.
Marina Razheva created Lullaby for the River for this occasion. The performance took place on the embankment of the Iset River. Vladimir Razhev, dressed in a penguin costume, played a wooden recorder. A semicircle of herrings lay in front of him; beside him stood a small crystal vessel containing round fish-oil capsules.
The scene brought together a lullaby and a river, a costumed figure and dead fish, a musical gesture and an unusual offering. The performance unfolded in public space as part of a festival that brought contemporary art into the everyday life of the city.
The festival’s online archive listed the performance under the title Penguin. Photographs and surviving media references now serve as documentation of the action.
Event
Event: VKL/VYKL magazine presentation and mini-festival
Date: 11 June 2003
Location: Iset River embankment, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Organizers: Yekaterinburg branch of the National Centre for Contemporary Arts
Curators: Nailya Allakhverdieva, Arseniy Sergeev and Tatyana Vetluzhskikh
