Russian Fairy Tales

The first paintings in this series emerged in 2023 as a result of the Artist’s observations concerning global political developments. In the times of such radical shifts, people often turn to the past, looking for historical solutions to the current economic, social, political, and cultural issues.

Historical background has always provided the key reference point for one’s worldview, and every time it is recontextualised signals the resurgence of a nation’s historical consciousness and self-awareness. The desire to get back to the roots often has to do with a pressing need for a renewed sense of a personal or national identity. The age of postmodernist questing and global civilisational transformation gives rise to a phenomenon defined by various scholars as the ‘return to the roots’ or ‘back to the source.’ Here, historical facts, legendary and folkloric narratives are reinterpreted according to the challenges of a new reality.

In this series, Ms. Marina Fedorova addresses popular pagan and Old Slavic imagery, especially that surviving in the form of epic and fairy tales traditionally told to the Russian children generation after generation. Finding herself in search of an internal holding ground and viable source of identity, the Artist finds moral support in the national folklore and draws inspiration from the characters known since childhood times.

The large-scale oil-on-canvas paintings are illustrative and theatrical in nature. The Artist captures her characters in a certain attitude and at a specific point of the story, giving each one of them pride of place in the overall composition. Infiltrating traditional imagery with recognisable everyday objects and household items of the 21st century, she arrives at a new visual sensibility perceived through the prism of the present day. Ms. Fedorova places her folktale and mythological subjects in a metamodernist context, marrying the traditional and historical with the currently relevant and creating imagery designed to conform to the new storyline unfolding inside her mind. The painter narrates her own fairy tales, at times coming up with an apocalyptic plot for the ancient characters to raise awareness of such problems as depletion of traditions, breakdown of continuity, and loss of connection to the source of folk culture.

Ms. Fedorva treats the first work in the series as a stage act, infusing it with an atmosphere of a chaotic theatrical backdrop reinforced by the vibrant and flamboyant, at times even garish palette and plenty of symbolic and cultural references. Permanently residing in Munich, Germany, the Artist managed to get hold of a traditional Russian female outfit consisting of a sarafan dress and kokoshnik headpiece, proceeding to commission a forest photo shoot, trying on the role of a Russian folktale character. This role play provides an opportunity to simultaneously create an unusual self-portrait and revisit her national roots. As a result, we see the Artist in a fairytale context surrounded by clichéd imagery long since associated with Russian culture: an embroidered red sarafan and kokoshnik, a brown bear, a matryoshka doll, and deep woods through which one is able to see the recognisable outlines of the Moscow Kremlin. Another stereotyped motif is that of a wooden hut surrounded by a fence decorated with human skulls – an obvious allusion to the netherworld and Baba Yaga as its constant dweller.

Giving centre stage to the female protagonist, the Artist emphasises the humans’ leading role and narcissistic nature, although traditional pre-Christian beliefs never treated men as the pinnacle of creation, instructing them to live in harmony with nature while being an integral part of the Universe. Visually dividing the painting’s space in two, the Artist symbolically depicts Slavic cosmology with its multiple realms in a state of constant interaction, primarily those of men and of the otherworldly beings appearing in fairy and epic tales.

Using unnaturally vibrant colours to highlight some of the painted elements – like for instance the ferns – Ms. Fedorova established a visible borderline between the two worlds, long closed to the modern-day people by virtue of changed beliefs and new values and domains of focus, including the Internet, the outer space, metaphysical realms, social media, and virtual reality. Pictured next to the Russian beauty we see robots as attributes of the modern civilisation. In the present day, they act as the magical animals of yore that used to perform the tasks of helping and guiding the main fairytale characters, assisting them in their difficult exploits.

Behind the female protagonist we see a bear painted with subdued hues and thus also appearing ghostly and otherworldly. Within the archaic belief system, the bear was perceived as the most supernaturally powerful animal on par with the wolf. He was the principal figure and ruler of the transcendental. Believed to be the lord of the otherworldly, the bear was associated with abundance, fertility, and sexuality. The Slavs viewed this animal as a human being, albeit belonging to a different ‘tribe.’ In certain folktales, references can be traced to an ancient legend about a bear taking a girl lost in the woods as his wife (echoes of which survive, for instance, in Masha and the Bear children’s story), which perhaps can account for the Artist depicting herself as a Russian beauty in the woods with a bear standing guard behind her back to protect her. Modern-day men certainly possess other skills, but have lost their connection to the bear-like power manifested in the now-defunct tradition of initiation rites symbolising the acceptance of natural forces of the animal required for survival (like the hunting prowess needed to provide for the family). In its turn, the understanding of the woman’s role in contemporary world has also seen major transformations, as reflected in other works of Ms. Fedorova’s series, like for example the Swan Lady.

Richly decorated with golden patterns and widely accepted as the archetypal Russian toy (although in fact harking back to the ancient Japanese culture), the matryoshka doll acts here as a source of aggression and hostility: the metal braces that hold her in place suggest a sadistic disorder associated with intentionally inducing fear and pain in victims unused to accepting the subversive aspects of the traditional folk culture.

The artwork’s title speaks of its surreal, fantasy-like nature, pronouncing a desire to escape from the harsh realities into a fairytale world. An obvious reference to Salvador Dalí’s Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, it reiterates the great Surrealist’s approach to both the creative process and the way of dealing with various current events. As such, an attempt of the archaic characters to populate the domain of modernity with its new rules shaped by religious consciousness and globalisation is seen as surreal.

A highly allusive artwork from the Fairy Tales series, Swan Lady redefines the way women are perceived and portrayed in the 21st century, creating an impression contrasting to that invoked by its predecessor, The Swan Princess by Mikhail Vrubel. Contrary to Vrubel, the contemporary painter tends to gauge the present against the past, and not vice versa. Just like in the historical painting, the moment pictured by Ms. Marina Fedorova is that of a magical transformation in which the real meets the fictional, underscoring the dual nature of the bird maiden. Just like her great Russian forerunner, the contemporary Artist chose a particular colour palette corresponding to a specific time of day, the only marked difference being that the new Swan Princess is rendered against a wintery background indicating not just a season but a metaphor for the afterlife: within the traditional culture, winter was associated with severe weather conditions that not everyone was fit to survive. The North was the abode of ancestor souls where a living person was forbidden to tread (interestingly, the blessed souls of the ancient Egyptian kings were also believed to migrate North, in the direction of the Polaris).

Ms. Marina Fedorova paints the world anew, foregrounding the bleeding Swan Princess devoid of her soul. The Artist intentionally leaves the protagonist’s eyes blank: black and lifeless, they are overrun by horrifying darkness, as the Princess has become an empty soulless shell, retaining all but a trace of her identity which can be recognised by elements of her folk costume. The character is apparently frozen in the state of transformation – a kind of human-to-animal or human-to-bird metamorphosis that is reflected in various shape-shifter legends echoing the ancient worship of totemic animals and witchcraft requiring special rituals, invocations, or magic objects. In folklore, such metamorphoses seem to allude to initiation rites, indicating a ceremonial passage between different stages of human life; in this case, for instance, the girl gaining birdlike traits was transitioning to adulthood and subsequent wifedom as swans are believed to mate for life. It is after this magical transformation signifying ritual initiation that a young girl would be ready for and capable of transitioning to a new status of a married woman. The avian symbolism also establishes links between the female character and the mythical celestial birds producing light and warmth, redefining the ancient connection between nature and the woman’s unique calling as a life-giver. Addressing this archaic image, Ms. Fedorova speaks of the broken connection to the natural forces and capacities manifested in the character’s inability to transfigure. In the Artist’s version, the Swan Princess is stuck at the stage of initiation, no longer a bird, but not yet a powerful female ruler invested with responsibility for her own home and household represented by an entire kingdom sheltering all living beings. Also worth noting is the fact that the princess is bleeding at the abdomen – the source of all things according to ancient beliefs, the place of inception and growth of a new life, here visually signals a disruption of the timeless life continuation cycle.

The painting is replete with symbolism: the egg and treasure chest seen in its left part by the Swan Princess’s feet reference the mystery of death of Koshchei the Immortal, the archetypal male antagonist in Russian fairy tales, and for a good reason. These objects allude to the sacral rituals traditionally performed to symbolically ‘bury’ winter and usher in the spring renewal, with the figure of Koshchei representing the lord of the underworld, the spirit of winter and death ultimately conquered by a girl who has the power to transform into a bird (either a little duck or the Swan Princess, depending on the specific narrative) signifying her role as the allegory of spring and blossoming. These images are easily deciphered and interpreted by a viewer rooted in the Russian culture, while their sacral significance prompts one to reflect on the picture’s other encrypted meanings.

Toward the background of her Swan Lady painting, Ms. Marina Fedorova chose to add another quintessential feature instantly recognisable by the Russian viewers. It is the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl – the strikingly beautiful architectural monument dating back to the 12th century and built at the heart of medieval Russia, in the village of Bogolyubovo in the Vladimir Oblast. The church was commissioned by Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky to commemorate the death of his son Iziaslav who had sustained deadly injuries during a military expedition. Thus the beautiful airy structure that seems to float above the ground not only acts as a place of religious worship but doubles as a funerary and commemorative edifice. In this way the painting superimposes the symbols associated with pagan beliefs and still retained in folklore and fairy tales with the later Russian Orthodox tradition, and finally modern-day agenda epitomised by the plane about to soar above the church and thus bring the viewer back to the current reality.

The ‘fairytale’ series wraps up the imagery seen by the Artist as being specific to the Russian culture, belonging to the nation’s semiotic system and cultural code. All paintings containing references to Russian fairy tales (and subsequently the folktales of other traditions) are symbolically rich and highly characteristic of their creator’s vision. The Artist’s distinctive interpretations and associations coupled with the challenges of the present moment create new tales and stories rooted in the historic past.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Russian Fairy Tales

The first paintings in this series emerged in 2023 as a result of the Artist’s observations concerning global political developments. In the times of such radical shifts, people often turn to the past, looking for historical solutions to the current economic, social, political, and cultural issues.

Historical background has always provided the key reference point for one’s worldview, and every time it is recontextualised signals the resurgence of a nation’s historical consciousness and self-awareness. The desire to get back to the roots often has to do with a pressing need for a renewed sense of a personal or national identity. The age of postmodernist questing and global civilisational transformation gives rise to a phenomenon defined by various scholars as the ‘return to the roots’ or ‘back to the source.’ Here, historical facts, legendary and folkloric narratives are reinterpreted according to the challenges of a new reality.

In this series, Ms. Marina Fedorova addresses popular pagan and Old Slavic imagery, especially that surviving in the form of epic and fairy tales traditionally told to the Russian children generation after generation. Finding herself in search of an internal holding ground and viable source of identity, the Artist finds moral support in the national folklore and draws inspiration from the characters known since childhood times.

The large-scale oil-on-canvas paintings are illustrative and theatrical in nature. The Artist captures her characters in a certain attitude and at a specific point of the story, giving each one of them pride of place in the overall composition. Infiltrating traditional imagery with recognisable everyday objects and household items of the 21st century, she arrives at a new visual sensibility perceived through the prism of the present day. Ms. Fedorova places her folktale and mythological subjects in a metamodernist context, marrying the traditional and historical with the currently relevant and creating imagery designed to conform to the new storyline unfolding inside her mind. The painter narrates her own fairy tales, at times coming up with an apocalyptic plot for the ancient characters to raise awareness of such problems as depletion of traditions, breakdown of continuity, and loss of connection to the source of folk culture.

Ms. Fedorva treats the first work in the series as a stage act, infusing it with an atmosphere of a chaotic theatrical backdrop reinforced by the vibrant and flamboyant, at times even garish palette and plenty of symbolic and cultural references. Permanently residing in Munich, Germany, the Artist managed to get hold of a traditional Russian female outfit consisting of a sarafan dress and kokoshnik headpiece, proceeding to commission a forest photo shoot, trying on the role of a Russian folktale character. This role play provides an opportunity to simultaneously create an unusual self-portrait and revisit her national roots. As a result, we see the Artist in a fairytale context surrounded by clichéd imagery long since associated with Russian culture: an embroidered red sarafan and kokoshnik, a brown bear, a matryoshka doll, and deep woods through which one is able to see the recognisable outlines of the Moscow Kremlin. Another stereotyped motif is that of a wooden hut surrounded by a fence decorated with human skulls – an obvious allusion to the netherworld and Baba Yaga as its constant dweller.

Giving centre stage to the female protagonist, the Artist emphasises the humans’ leading role and narcissistic nature, although traditional pre-Christian beliefs never treated men as the pinnacle of creation, instructing them to live in harmony with nature while being an integral part of the Universe. Visually dividing the painting’s space in two, the Artist symbolically depicts Slavic cosmology with its multiple realms in a state of constant interaction, primarily those of men and of the otherworldly beings appearing in fairy and epic tales.

Using unnaturally vibrant colours to highlight some of the painted elements – like for instance the ferns – Ms. Fedorova established a visible borderline between the two worlds, long closed to the modern-day people by virtue of changed beliefs and new values and domains of focus, including the Internet, the outer space, metaphysical realms, social media, and virtual reality. Pictured next to the Russian beauty we see robots as attributes of the modern civilisation. In the present day, they act as the magical animals of yore that used to perform the tasks of helping and guiding the main fairytale characters, assisting them in their difficult exploits.

Behind the female protagonist we see a bear painted with subdued hues and thus also appearing ghostly and otherworldly. Within the archaic belief system, the bear was perceived as the most supernaturally powerful animal on par with the wolf. He was the principal figure and ruler of the transcendental. Believed to be the lord of the otherworldly, the bear was associated with abundance, fertility, and sexuality. The Slavs viewed this animal as a human being, albeit belonging to a different ‘tribe.’ In certain folktales, references can be traced to an ancient legend about a bear taking a girl lost in the woods as his wife (echoes of which survive, for instance, in Masha and the Bear children’s story), which perhaps can account for the Artist depicting herself as a Russian beauty in the woods with a bear standing guard behind her back to protect her. Modern-day men certainly possess other skills, but have lost their connection to the bear-like power manifested in the now-defunct tradition of initiation rites symbolising the acceptance of natural forces of the animal required for survival (like the hunting prowess needed to provide for the family). In its turn, the understanding of the woman’s role in contemporary world has also seen major transformations, as reflected in other works of Ms. Fedorova’s series, like for example the Swan Lady.

Richly decorated with golden patterns and widely accepted as the archetypal Russian toy (although in fact harking back to the ancient Japanese culture), the matryoshka doll acts here as a source of aggression and hostility: the metal braces that hold her in place suggest a sadistic disorder associated with intentionally inducing fear and pain in victims unused to accepting the subversive aspects of the traditional folk culture.

The artwork’s title speaks of its surreal, fantasy-like nature, pronouncing a desire to escape from the harsh realities into a fairytale world. An obvious reference to Salvador Dalí’s Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, it reiterates the great Surrealist’s approach to both the creative process and the way of dealing with various current events. As such, an attempt of the archaic characters to populate the domain of modernity with its new rules shaped by religious consciousness and globalisation is seen as surreal.

A highly allusive artwork from the Fairy Tales series, Swan Lady redefines the way women are perceived and portrayed in the 21st century, creating an impression contrasting to that invoked by its predecessor, The Swan Princess by Mikhail Vrubel. Contrary to Vrubel, the contemporary painter tends to gauge the present against the past, and not vice versa. Just like in the historical painting, the moment pictured by Ms. Marina Fedorova is that of a magical transformation in which the real meets the fictional, underscoring the dual nature of the bird maiden. Just like her great Russian forerunner, the contemporary Artist chose a particular colour palette corresponding to a specific time of day, the only marked difference being that the new Swan Princess is rendered against a wintery background indicating not just a season but a metaphor for the afterlife: within the traditional culture, winter was associated with severe weather conditions that not everyone was fit to survive. The North was the abode of ancestor souls where a living person was forbidden to tread (interestingly, the blessed souls of the ancient Egyptian kings were also believed to migrate North, in the direction of the Polaris).

Ms. Marina Fedorova paints the world anew, foregrounding the bleeding Swan Princess devoid of her soul. The Artist intentionally leaves the protagonist’s eyes blank: black and lifeless, they are overrun by horrifying darkness, as the Princess has become an empty soulless shell, retaining all but a trace of her identity which can be recognised by elements of her folk costume. The character is apparently frozen in the state of transformation – a kind of human-to-animal or human-to-bird metamorphosis that is reflected in various shape-shifter legends echoing the ancient worship of totemic animals and witchcraft requiring special rituals, invocations, or magic objects. In folklore, such metamorphoses seem to allude to initiation rites, indicating a ceremonial passage between different stages of human life; in this case, for instance, the girl gaining birdlike traits was transitioning to adulthood and subsequent wifedom as swans are believed to mate for life. It is after this magical transformation signifying ritual initiation that a young girl would be ready for and capable of transitioning to a new status of a married woman. The avian symbolism also establishes links between the female character and the mythical celestial birds producing light and warmth, redefining the ancient connection between nature and the woman’s unique calling as a life-giver. Addressing this archaic image, Ms. Fedorova speaks of the broken connection to the natural forces and capacities manifested in the character’s inability to transfigure. In the Artist’s version, the Swan Princess is stuck at the stage of initiation, no longer a bird, but not yet a powerful female ruler invested with responsibility for her own home and household represented by an entire kingdom sheltering all living beings. Also worth noting is the fact that the princess is bleeding at the abdomen – the source of all things according to ancient beliefs, the place of inception and growth of a new life, here visually signals a disruption of the timeless life continuation cycle.

The painting is replete with symbolism: the egg and treasure chest seen in its left part by the Swan Princess’s feet reference the mystery of death of Koshchei the Immortal, the archetypal male antagonist in Russian fairy tales, and for a good reason. These objects allude to the sacral rituals traditionally performed to symbolically ‘bury’ winter and usher in the spring renewal, with the figure of Koshchei representing the lord of the underworld, the spirit of winter and death ultimately conquered by a girl who has the power to transform into a bird (either a little duck or the Swan Princess, depending on the specific narrative) signifying her role as the allegory of spring and blossoming. These images are easily deciphered and interpreted by a viewer rooted in the Russian culture, while their sacral significance prompts one to reflect on the picture’s other encrypted meanings.

Toward the background of her Swan Lady painting, Ms. Marina Fedorova chose to add another quintessential feature instantly recognisable by the Russian viewers. It is the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl – the strikingly beautiful architectural monument dating back to the 12th century and built at the heart of medieval Russia, in the village of Bogolyubovo in the Vladimir Oblast. The church was commissioned by Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky to commemorate the death of his son Iziaslav who had sustained deadly injuries during a military expedition. Thus the beautiful airy structure that seems to float above the ground not only acts as a place of religious worship but doubles as a funerary and commemorative edifice. In this way the painting superimposes the symbols associated with pagan beliefs and still retained in folklore and fairy tales with the later Russian Orthodox tradition, and finally modern-day agenda epitomised by the plane about to soar above the church and thus bring the viewer back to the current reality.

The ‘fairytale’ series wraps up the imagery seen by the Artist as being specific to the Russian culture, belonging to the nation’s semiotic system and cultural code. All paintings containing references to Russian fairy tales (and subsequently the folktales of other traditions) are symbolically rich and highly characteristic of their creator’s vision. The Artist’s distinctive interpretations and associations coupled with the challenges of the present moment create new tales and stories rooted in the historic past.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Blue Orchids.

For the 2024 edition of the ART021 fair in Shanghai, Ms. Marina Fedorova created a series of paintings entitled Blue Orchids. The series’ key expressive devices are surreal imagery and colour. Various shades of blue were selected for their association with water, sky, and air. The snow-capped mountainscapes can also be read as visual representations of the element of water, appearing in the physical states of snow and ice.

For the Artist, the natural element of water becomes an object of art, symbolising the life-giving force of nature. Up to 80% of the human body is water, and human embryos inside the mother’s womb form and develop in the amniotic fluid colloquially known as ‘water.’ Astronauts train underwater, as the physical aspects of neutral buoyancy are closest to the state of zero gravity. Performing various tasks at a water immersion facility, they essentially learn to survive underwater in order to better adapt to the microgravity during spaceflight. Dark or light blue, clear, cool or warm, water can be liquid, solid, or gaseous. Humans always perceived aquatic depths as unknown domain – similar to the outer space that has always signified the unknown and is now also synonymous with weightlessness.

In this series of paintings, the Artist revisits her favourite motif of snow peaks – except that here she enriches the state of meditative contemplation invoked by the mountain landscapes by introducing a fantasy image charged with a special meaning: the blue tropical orchids, known for their capacity for survival under severe conditions, indicate power and endurance.

Here, Melting Glacier is rendered in monochrome to better convey the state of balance between the celestial, aerial, and aquatic – both natural and artificial. The Artist uses a shade of blue to depict the blurred borders, seemingly illustrating the transition between dream and reality, referencing the Surrealists’ play with multi-dimensionality and visual perception. Ms. Fedorova’s choice of colours allows her to point towards other dimensions, an abode of dreams where the connection to the waking state is broken and the dividing line between space and time is obscured.

The artwork stylistically gravitates towards Art Deco, as suggested by its streamlined geometry, deliberate lack of mysterious and profound symbolism, and a general escapist feel. Ms. Marina Fedorova sharply divides the pictorial plane into two parts, intentionally placing the otherworldly realm behind the confines delineated by the mountain range and mirror-like water surface and apparently beyond reach. In addition to other physical attributes, water also has optical properties, refracting light, deforming appearances, creating natural boundaries between environments. It is these deformations pointing to the existence of other worlds that the painter seeks to portray, inadvertently quoting the artistic and philosophical tropes of the 20th century: engaging in a game with the viewer’s imagination, she comes up with new visions of the non-existent.

Another surreal element of the painting that takes up a large portion of its spatial arrangement is the blue orchid epitomising transcendence. The image of the flower is dramatically exaggerated, although not given centre stage: the gigantic inflorescence is placed behind the mountain range, seemingly off limits. The mountaintops emphasise the flower’s scale and simultaneously accentuate its otherworldliness. Thus the orchid is perceived not as a feature of natural beauty, but as an animate being, a character complete with its own story.

A landscape blending snow-capped mountains and tropical orchids is enchanting in its non-realistic quality. However, the Artist admits that she was initially struck by the beauty of a completely real blue flower she had glimpsed in a shop window. Taking the flower home, Ms. Fedorova was caught in a snow storm. The snowflakes being blown over the blue blossoms created an improbable contrast that had so impressed the Artist that she was inspired to start a new series of paintings.

The composition of the second artwork, Blue Orchids, is built around a clearly visible mountain range, to which end the Artist selected an elevated viewpoint, as if the peaks were at the viewer’s eye level. Here, too, a sensation of unreality is induced by the appearance of blossoming blue orchids. They act as a screen concealing the way to uncharted and sacral domains beyond the layman’s reach. Drawing the bulk of attention, they seem to distract the viewers, hiding among their stems a fossilised skeleton of some extinct animal acting as a symbol of all things old and defunct, no longer belonging in this world. Like the Surrealists before her, the Artist is fascinated by death as a biological experience of bodily transformation. Here, just as in Melting Glacier, Ms. Marina Fedorova divides the pictorial plane in two, placing the past behind clearly marked borders, thereby making it hard to approach or even utterly inaccessible.

Orchids, particularly the blue variety, make the impression of something otherworldly. Although such colours do not occur naturally and were introduced artificially, the flower itself is an undisputable work of nature. Despite their outward fragility, these flowers are incredibly sturdy and resilient. Some species grow on bare rocks or high up in the treetops without ever touching the ground. Orchids symbolise survival amid inhospitable environments, not only managing to retain their beauty, but becoming the paragon of dignity and adaptability. The Artist bestows these qualities upon human beings by envisioning a hybrid of man and orchid.

It is through the medium of sculpture that Ms. Fedorova continues her fantasy play, evoking the Surrealists’ beloved game of ‘exquisite corpse’ that originated uncanny imagery of half-humans and half-animals by merging human figures with various objects, fish or insects. In this case, the Artist treats the orchid not merely as a beautiful inflorescence, but as a living being veering towards anthropomorphism and having a character and destiny of its own. Revisiting her past as an academically trained fashion designer, Ms. Marina Fedorova creates a series of mannequin-like sculptures that augment the concept of the Blue Orchids series, further elaborating its mood through gestures, postures, and the overall image. The purpose of this particular mannequin is not to demonstrate the art of garment design, but to conceal its natural fragility by expressly showing off its exceptionality – an approach at odds with the true spirit of nature.

For instance, Orchid Lady 2 sculpture seems to be growing out of a block of stone, from which emerges an anthropomorphic figure wearing an orchid-shaped face mask. The face is only partially covered, leaving in the open view the most important window to the soul – the eyes.

Floral motifs in art are usually symbolically charged and trigger various associations which are also present in this sculptural composition. The flower’s shape, colour, taste, smell, and blossoming time normally have various attached connotations, offering a key to personality or communicating a certain moral or philosophical message. Botanical symbolism can be traced back to ancient literature in which plants were often used as metaphors for virtues and vices. Some species are even mentioned as characters of myths and legends endowed with distinctive skills and personality traits that predestine their fate and mission. Ms. Marina Fedorova enhances the new artwork series with this sculpture to illustrate the concept of beauty being born out of shapelessness through efforts not only physical, but also mental and spiritual.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Blue Orchids.

For the 2024 edition of the ART021 fair in Shanghai, Ms. Marina Fedorova created a series of paintings entitled Blue Orchids. The series’ key expressive devices are surreal imagery and colour. Various shades of blue were selected for their association with water, sky, and air. The snow-capped mountainscapes can also be read as visual representations of the element of water, appearing in the physical states of snow and ice.

For the Artist, the natural element of water becomes an object of art, symbolising the life-giving force of nature. Up to 80% of the human body is water, and human embryos inside the mother’s womb form and develop in the amniotic fluid colloquially known as ‘water.’ Astronauts train underwater, as the physical aspects of neutral buoyancy are closest to the state of zero gravity. Performing various tasks at a water immersion facility, they essentially learn to survive underwater in order to better adapt to the microgravity during spaceflight. Dark or light blue, clear, cool or warm, water can be liquid, solid, or gaseous. Humans always perceived aquatic depths as unknown domain – similar to the outer space that has always signified the unknown and is now also synonymous with weightlessness.

In this series of paintings, the Artist revisits her favourite motif of snow peaks – except that here she enriches the state of meditative contemplation invoked by the mountain landscapes by introducing a fantasy image charged with a special meaning: the blue tropical orchids, known for their capacity for survival under severe conditions, indicate power and endurance.

Here, Melting Glacier is rendered in monochrome to better convey the state of balance between the celestial, aerial, and aquatic – both natural and artificial. The Artist uses a shade of blue to depict the blurred borders, seemingly illustrating the transition between dream and reality, referencing the Surrealists’ play with multi-dimensionality and visual perception. Ms. Fedorova’s choice of colours allows her to point towards other dimensions, an abode of dreams where the connection to the waking state is broken and the dividing line between space and time is obscured.

The artwork stylistically gravitates towards Art Deco, as suggested by its streamlined geometry, deliberate lack of mysterious and profound symbolism, and a general escapist feel. Ms. Marina Fedorova sharply divides the pictorial plane into two parts, intentionally placing the otherworldly realm behind the confines delineated by the mountain range and mirror-like water surface and apparently beyond reach. In addition to other physical attributes, water also has optical properties, refracting light, deforming appearances, creating natural boundaries between environments. It is these deformations pointing to the existence of other worlds that the painter seeks to portray, inadvertently quoting the artistic and philosophical tropes of the 20th century: engaging in a game with the viewer’s imagination, she comes up with new visions of the non-existent.

Another surreal element of the painting that takes up a large portion of its spatial arrangement is the blue orchid epitomising transcendence. The image of the flower is dramatically exaggerated, although not given centre stage: the gigantic inflorescence is placed behind the mountain range, seemingly off limits. The mountaintops emphasise the flower’s scale and simultaneously accentuate its otherworldliness. Thus the orchid is perceived not as a feature of natural beauty, but as an animate being, a character complete with its own story.

A landscape blending snow-capped mountains and tropical orchids is enchanting in its non-realistic quality. However, the Artist admits that she was initially struck by the beauty of a completely real blue flower she had glimpsed in a shop window. Taking the flower home, Ms. Fedorova was caught in a snow storm. The snowflakes being blown over the blue blossoms created an improbable contrast that had so impressed the Artist that she was inspired to start a new series of paintings.

The composition of the second artwork, Blue Orchids, is built around a clearly visible mountain range, to which end the Artist selected an elevated viewpoint, as if the peaks were at the viewer’s eye level. Here, too, a sensation of unreality is induced by the appearance of blossoming blue orchids. They act as a screen concealing the way to uncharted and sacral domains beyond the layman’s reach. Drawing the bulk of attention, they seem to distract the viewers, hiding among their stems a fossilised skeleton of some extinct animal acting as a symbol of all things old and defunct, no longer belonging in this world. Like the Surrealists before her, the Artist is fascinated by death as a biological experience of bodily transformation. Here, just as in Melting Glacier, Ms. Marina Fedorova divides the pictorial plane in two, placing the past behind clearly marked borders, thereby making it hard to approach or even utterly inaccessible.

Orchids, particularly the blue variety, make the impression of something otherworldly. Although such colours do not occur naturally and were introduced artificially, the flower itself is an undisputable work of nature. Despite their outward fragility, these flowers are incredibly sturdy and resilient. Some species grow on bare rocks or high up in the treetops without ever touching the ground. Orchids symbolise survival amid inhospitable environments, not only managing to retain their beauty, but becoming the paragon of dignity and adaptability. The Artist bestows these qualities upon human beings by envisioning a hybrid of man and orchid.

It is through the medium of sculpture that Ms. Fedorova continues her fantasy play, evoking the Surrealists’ beloved game of ‘exquisite corpse’ that originated uncanny imagery of half-humans and half-animals by merging human figures with various objects, fish or insects. In this case, the Artist treats the orchid not merely as a beautiful inflorescence, but as a living being veering towards anthropomorphism and having a character and destiny of its own. Revisiting her past as an academically trained fashion designer, Ms. Marina Fedorova creates a series of mannequin-like sculptures that augment the concept of the Blue Orchids series, further elaborating its mood through gestures, postures, and the overall image. The purpose of this particular mannequin is not to demonstrate the art of garment design, but to conceal its natural fragility by expressly showing off its exceptionality – an approach at odds with the true spirit of nature.

For instance, Orchid Lady 2 sculpture seems to be growing out of a block of stone, from which emerges an anthropomorphic figure wearing an orchid-shaped face mask. The face is only partially covered, leaving in the open view the most important window to the soul – the eyes.

Floral motifs in art are usually symbolically charged and trigger various associations which are also present in this sculptural composition. The flower’s shape, colour, taste, smell, and blossoming time normally have various attached connotations, offering a key to personality or communicating a certain moral or philosophical message. Botanical symbolism can be traced back to ancient literature in which plants were often used as metaphors for virtues and vices. Some species are even mentioned as characters of myths and legends endowed with distinctive skills and personality traits that predestine their fate and mission. Ms. Marina Fedorova enhances the new artwork series with this sculpture to illustrate the concept of beauty being born out of shapelessness through efforts not only physical, but also mental and spiritual.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Galla Diner

The new series of artworks that started to take shape in the late 2024 comprises allegorical paintings. Its powerful imagery illustrates the Artist’s thoughts on the rules and norms of the social games we play. One may argue that most of the works in the series require no additional description or in-depth analysis: straightforward as they are, the messages contained in Snack or Les Têtes parlantes are quite easy to decode, leaving it up to the viewer to come up with an independent judgement and interpretation of the painter’s statement.

The two large-scale allegoric canvases reinvent Francisco Goya’s playful approach to viewer perception famously perpetuated by his ‘hidden meaning’ diptych of La maja desnuda and La maja vestida, with the latter intended to conceal the former, keeping a secret shared only with a limited number of people. Ms. Fedorova’s diptych rich in ironic overtones was conceived after a high-profile dinner party. Compositionally, both paintings allude to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Using the great master’s approach to perspective, the contemporary painter aims to create an immersive effect. Central to The Last Supper’s linear perspective is the figure of Christ; the focal point of the first of Ms. Marina Fedorova’s two paintings is also on the central figure, this time of a woman, representing the lady of the household and host of the dinner party. Who was the real-life model projected into this female character by the Artist’s imagination is open to guesswork. The affinity for the grotesque is reminiscent of the Symbolist painters’ practice and offers a way to ridicule and deride the ways and morals of contemporary society by distorting and exaggerating certain features, for instance adding extravagant table arrangements and exquisite fancy foods to emphasise the idea of abundance, even overindulgence verging on chaos and disorder. Every character pictured minds his or her own business, and most have their backs turned to the rest of the party: there is neither unity nor dialogue among those present, creating a bleak impression of the impossibility of communication, mounting loneliness and frustration accompanied by a general feel of absurdity.

The second part of the diptych features various animals and has obvious allegorical undertones, suggesting a Surrealist play with imagery and associations: every human we see in the first picture has an animal counterpart in the second. Here the main accent is on the little child, the embodiment of purity and promise standing in stark contrast to the anthropomorphic animal-headed figures. To enliven and simultaneously foreground the predatory, aggressive, and hostile atmosphere of the gathering, the Artist chose to add colourful butterflies fluttering across the canvas.

The distinct mood of the diptych is supported by the bright raspberry-red backdrop rendered with Ms. Fedorova’s favourite highly saturated hue, reminding one of a theatrical curtain and affording an aspect of staginess and drama. This is one of the Artist’s favourite devices intended to create the impression of a feature film still.

The Artist comments the diptych as follows:
‘I was once invited to a very important dinner party with people of the high society, really crème de la crème. The table was beautifully decorated with flowers, fruit, and silverware. I knew no one there, and their status meant nothing to me. I sat quietly, listening to their conversations which, after half an hour, gradually ceased to be all that refined. Frankly speaking, I was bored to death. Whenever I feel bored, my creative imagination kicks in, prompting me to reinvent what I see. All the guests started turning into various animals that they most resembled. I realise this is not my invention: we have all read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. There is nothing new about likening humans to animals and vice versa. However, in my particular case, I feel more sympathy for the animals than for the humans.

Of course there is no formal likeness to the actual people or the actual event that inspired the artwork. All characters are merely an amalgamation of different posh types on Pinterest, just as the food and drinks. I tried to put on the table everything that crossed my mind, mixing dishes that could have never been served at the same time but are nevertheless universally considered delicious and classy. The gala dinner consists of two parts – one with humans and another one with their mirror-like animal reflections.

Or perhaps the humans were nothing but costumed animals in the first place? That said, there is nothing intimidating about this diptych apart from the general absurdity and self-deception. The innocent child is the only character still capable of making a conscious identity choice.

By the way, I don’t consider myself any better than my characters, and if I were to choose my counterpart, it would be the one on the extreme left.’

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert