about
2020 will stay in our memory as a "special" year that made us re-think the true value of many things, like relationships, hygiene, professions, health, and most importantly, freedom.
we all have temporarily lost the freedom of movement, right to touch and be touched, right to express our feelings, and joy of coming together. the scope of what is allowed has narrowed down to the size of our homes, reviving the format of house parties.
in the past house parties often were a form of a protest.
in 1980-s Russia it was an opportunity to express views that run counter to the cultural policy of the system. people often felt more freedom in a packed room than in the outside world.
a little later, in the early 2000-s, it was all about house parties of our school years, when parents were away. the first taste of "adult life" and violation of all taboos.
and now, having reached a relative freedom of action, we have once again faced restrictions. but today's forbidden fruit is the luxury of human communication.
we all have temporarily lost the freedom of movement, right to touch and be touched, right to express our feelings, and joy of coming together. the scope of what is allowed has narrowed down to the size of our homes, reviving the format of house parties.
in the past house parties often were a form of a protest.
in 1980-s Russia it was an opportunity to express views that run counter to the cultural policy of the system. people often felt more freedom in a packed room than in the outside world.
a little later, in the early 2000-s, it was all about house parties of our school years, when parents were away. the first taste of "adult life" and violation of all taboos.
and now, having reached a relative freedom of action, we have once again faced restrictions. but today's forbidden fruit is the luxury of human communication.
AFTERGLOW is a series of portraits at an imaginary party thrown in an apartment of a five-story building of Stalin's era. 35 years ago these walls were shaken by underground Soviet rock. 10 years ago this was the place of endless school parties to the roaring of my CD recorder. no matter how much we have tried to escape from our homes to new formats of the big city life – we are here again, walking in circles.
it is an attempt to link the series of recurring events through photography, lighting, music and personal stories of participants. all items used in the collages belong to this flat. school notes found on the top shelves, old travel tickets, favourite CDs and cassette covers add depth and nostalgia.
it is a reflection on the repetition of things and the transformation of space depending on the person in focus. an ode to timelessness. the farewell party of 2020.
soundtrack:
Enter My World by Timo Maas
photography and production:
Anastasia Shub
mixed media art:
Valeria Dunaevskaya and Anastasia Shub
it is an attempt to link the series of recurring events through photography, lighting, music and personal stories of participants. all items used in the collages belong to this flat. school notes found on the top shelves, old travel tickets, favourite CDs and cassette covers add depth and nostalgia.
it is a reflection on the repetition of things and the transformation of space depending on the person in focus. an ode to timelessness. the farewell party of 2020.
soundtrack:
Enter My World by Timo Maas
photography and production:
Anastasia Shub
mixed media art:
Valeria Dunaevskaya and Anastasia Shub
MOST MEMORABLE – WERE THE HOUSE PARTIES AT PERVOMAYSKAYA. WERE AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN. THIS WAS A PERFECT APARTMENT. KITCHEN FILLED WITH CIGARETTE SMOKE, SONGS TO THE GUITAR. WE WERE LAUGHING TILL OUR STOMACHS STARTED TO HURT. THE MAIN ROOM, OF COURSE, WAS THE KITCHEN. 20 PEOPLE IN 8 M2 SPACE. THERE WE WERE ALL SO CLOSE. NO SECRETS, NO OFFENSES, NO SHIT IN GENERAL. WE COULD LIVE IN THIS APARTMENT FOR 3-4 DAYS. IN THE MORNINGS, HUNGOVER, WE WERE LEAVING TO UNI OR WORK. COMING BACK IN THE EVENINGS. THERE WAS ABSOLUTE FREEDOM FROM EVERYTHING.
I remember the discussion of the worst PLACEBO ALBUM IN THE COMPANY OF THE MOST interesting and PRETTY ECLECTIC women. THE provocative but talented photo SESSION and, of course, MySELf – SUCH A young, slender, under-18-looking boy, dressed according to the best traditions of British casual wear. it has also turned out then that gothic make-up looks quite good on me.
YOU ARE TRYING TO TREAT ME TO SOME WINE. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH GOOD MUSIC. VOLUME IS ALWAYS AT THE MAXIMUM. WE DANCE. BALCONY AND CIGARETTES. EVERY TIME I THOUGHT – HOW ARE THE NEIGHBOURS PUTTING UP WITH THIS? IT WAS ALWAYS AT NIGHT. AND THE BLACK RECORDER WAS PLACED ON THE WINDOWSILL WITH THE WINDOW ALWAYS OPEN.
to be frank, house parties have always been something quick for me. never made new friends with anybody there, or fallen in love. I'd usually get drunk and go home.
AT SOME POINT I HAVE REALISED THAT I AM SITTING IN THE KITCHEN WITH 20 OR 30 GIRLS UNFAMILIAR TO ME. AND ALL OF THEM ARE LESBIANS. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. IT WAS SORT OF SCARY AT FIRST, BUT SHORTLY AFTER WE WERE ALTOGETHER SINGING "THE CRAZY EMPRESS" BY ALLEGROVA. AND IN THE END, TYPICAL FOR SUCH PARTIES, WE BECAME "ONE BIG FAMILY" AND HAD HARD TIMES SAYING GOODBYE WHEN PEOPLE STARTED LEAVING TO GO BACK TO THEIR LIVES.
WE GOT PRETTY WASTED, AND AFTER EVERYONE HAS LEFT, WE KISSED. THERE WAS THIS INSANE FREEDOM IN THE AIR, HAPPINESS AND LOVE FOR EVERYONE AROUND ME. Unfortunately, AS TIME GOES BY, ALL THIS FADES AWAY.
FROM 2009 TO 2014 I STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN A GROUP OF 3 GIRLS AND 30 BOYS. THE SAME PERCENTAGE RATIO REMAINED IN DORMS. SOMETIMES, IN ORDER NOT TO GET INTO THE FLOW OF ALCOHOL-NICOTINE RIVERS AND HUGGING-KISSING STORIES, I HAD TO CLOSE THE ROOM, PRETENDING TO BE MISSING OR DEAD.
WHEN I WAS A CHILD, PARENTS LOVED THROWING SUCH BACCHANALIAS. I REMEMBER MOM'S TRACK SUITS AND COLOURED SNEAKERS WITH PURPLE REEBOK LACES. AND I REMEMBER THE OLD BUMBOX, WHICH WE STILL HAVE AT OUR DACHA.
FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS THE MOMENT WHEN I PUT ON THE MUSIC, AND EVERYBODY START DANCING. I ALSO LEARNED MY FIRST GUITAR SONG – "COME AS YOU ARE" – AT ONE OF THE HOUSE PARTIES.
MY FRIEND'S DAD WAS A PAINTER WITH A HUGE APARTMENT AT SMOLENSKAYA. HE WAS RARELY HOME, SO MOST OF THE TIME WE WERE MEETING THERE. MINIMUM AMOUNT OF FURNITURE – MATTRESSES INSTEAD OF BEDS, BARE WALLS. ALL THIS WAS AN ADVANTAGE BECAUSE WE HAD SMALLER CHANCES TO DAMAGE SOMETHING. LARGE WINDOWS WERE FACING THE ARBAT.
PARTYING TILL DAWN TO PLACEBO AND AVRIL LAVIGNE, ENDLESS DANCING AND COUNTLESS LITRES OF WINE. A VERY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE TIME PERIOD. I still remember how I fell asleep on the sofa at 5 AM, ALL DRESSED UP and WITH THE MAKE-UP ON, TO THE SOUND OF PROPHECIES BY SOME fortune-teller-astrologer Cassandra THAT was on the TV.
we arranged an amazing electronic music concert at my ex boyfriend's place with all the party lighting, mixing the vinyls and painting on the walls. there have been some celebrities and very bohemian characters too. FOR ME THEN IT WAS SOMETHING INCREDIBLE!
MY HOME PARTIES usually consisted of chilling AT my BEST FRIEND'S HOUSE. WE WATCHED STRANGE Talk SHOWS AND indulged in eating 20 CHEESE SANDWICHES in one go. BUT ONCE our CLASSMATE smuggled salvia in the TEA box, and WE found ourselves IN the COMPANY OF some odd teenagers IN HER APARTMENT. strange memories.
AFTER my house partying period I DO NOT DRINK: TEQUILA, RUM, WHISKEY AND LIQUOR. BUT THE BEST PART OF such gatherings IS OF COURSE good old handmade herbal infusions WHICH STAND IN GODforsaken PLACE and come in handy WHEN all the bottles have already been finished. BEAUTIFUL DELICIOUS infusions FROM the dearest PARENTS.
THE KISS OF ONE GREAT MAN THAT REMAINED UNACCEPTED due TO MY reluctance to accept such valuable gifts. don't think i have ever regretted it afterwards.
I have BOUGHT MYSELF TWO BOTTLES OF "ARBATSKOE" RED WINE. IT COST 105 RUBLES PER BOTTLE IN THE STORE BELOW. ACIDic AND NOT TASTY AT ALL, it was still more TOLERABLE THan the ALTERNATIVES PREFERrED by others. I only REMEMBERED my FIRST BOTTLE, AND THEN, OF course, it all went blank.
EVERYTHING REFRACTS THROUGH THE PRISM OF TIME. TIME LEAVES TRACES AND HINTS ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS. BUT THESE PICTURES HAVE NO DATE. THIS IS A FINE MATTER, A BRIGHT FLASH AND FADING SILHOUETTES – OUR AFTERGLOW.