Arabian Nights

The Artist embarked on creating a series of paintings that would later make up a separate thematic cluster within the COSMODREAMS project titled Arabian Nights after her trip to the Arabic countries.

Enchanted by the oriental culture, Ms. Marina Fedorova, as any true artist, resorts to the medium of painting to share her impressions. Hence she has integrated the previously experienced landscapes into the COSMODREAMS universe, merging her imaginary world with real cultural heritage sites of the Middle East. On this particular instance, the Artist used the theme of space conquest as a kind of bridge linking various civilisations – a domain of human endeavours providing limitless opportunities for scientific progress and other human achievements irrespective of cultural codes, faith or nationality. This philosophy is consistent with the doctrines voiced by the extraordinary Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) who believed that space exploration is bound to unite mankind into a single nation that would inhabit the endless expanse of the Universe while constantly growing in numbers.

One of the pictures in this cluster was inspired by the annual Traditional Dhow Boat Festival in Qatar. For centuries, wooden dhow boats have been navigating the Arabian Sea as the principal mode of transportation, bringing fresh water, fruit, and other commodities to local inhabitants. The painting illustrates the Artist’s fantasy about the preservation of the national and cultural heritage and the possible transformations of local cultural artefacts in the age of rapidly developing space technologies. The artwork bears a distinct imprint of Ms. Fedorova’s signature painting style, frequently seen in her urban landscapes. It gives us a chance to infer which city left a mark in the Artist’s heart and memory, and which people and events she now associates it with.

Characteristically, such paintings as There (2014) from the Reflections project (similar in terms of composition and even colour scheme), as well as NY (2014, Reflections), Night in the City (2015, Reflections), and other cityscapes rendered by the Artist clearly demonstrate Ms. Fedorova’s tendency to admire the beauty of human creations with a childlike candidness.

The Martian Night painting is a reference to the tales of One Thousand and One Nights with their enchanting plot twists, colourful characters, and magic. The Artist changes the setting of one of these spellbinding stories which now takes place in the extraterrestrial realms, on the red planet of Mars. The ancient folk tale acquires new shape: we see a future Aladdin who has nevertheless retained his cultural DNA and national identity with its characteristic mastery of magical objects and artefacts. As for the gymnast girl sculpture, this is one of the recurring images across the Artist’s oeuvre, allowing her to link together several distinct artworks within the COSMODREAMS project, including the Space Art Odyssey video and the 3D-printed sculpture. In addition, an AR scenario created for the picture effortlessly blends the classical painting elements of oil, canvas, and academic composition with advanced digital art medium.

The painting features various shades of reddish orange and blue – quite an unusual colour combination for the Artist. Orange is a multifaceted colour with rich symbolic meanings in different cultures. It is very much present in Asian religions, implying spiritual perfection and the ultimate state of enlightenment.

The Artist seems to allude to the wisdom and knowledge passed down with epic tales and legends which are never affected by time. In the modern world, traditional folk tales are as relevant as before and can easily adjust to current trends and circumstances.

White Mosque was inspired by one of the world’s largest mosques. The grand, impeccably white structure looks pure and weightless, as if floating above the ground. Ms. Marina Fedorova visualizes this priceless piece of architectural heritage intact after many centuries and perhaps even millennia, looking into the future with a firm belief that important cultural objects will retain their authenticity despite globalisation and the trailblazing discoveries in space.

Yet another artwork featuring a colour palette uncharacteristic of the Artist is called Al-‘Ula. Its title refers to the architectural landmark designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This until recently closed country is a true natural and cultural gem. The painting may be seen as Ms. Marina Fedorova’s evocative tribute to one of the majestic Nabatean tombs of Al-‘Ula. The inclusion of a spaceship into the picture connects it to the project’s recurring theme of space exploration. For this painting, too, the Artist came up with an alternative story realised as an AR scenario activated through the COSMODREAMS AR app. Digital art is employed here as an auxiliary tool allowing one to step beyond the confines of a two-dimensional canvas and imagine what could happen in this beautiful unspoilt oasis.

The subject and composition of the final work in this cluster is somewhat reminiscent of an older painting dating from 2011, At Home. In 222 Dubai, created in 2023, Ms. Fedorova also depicts a female figure standing with her back turned to the viewer and visually resembling the Artist herself. The female protagonist is staring out of a large panoramic window as the entire history of a country unfolds outside, witnessing the most sophisticated technologies being boldly introduced while the national identity is carefully preserved. Perhaps in the near future no one would be surprised by the sight of disk-shaped aircrafts like the one visible in the top right corner. By painting this minor detail against the clear sky, the Artist seems to hint at the idea of a bright and serene future professed by her predecessors, thinkers and scholars of the Russian cosmism movement, who envisioned the advancement of space technologies. The picture tangibly differs in mood from At Home; this difference is further reinforced by the fact that the protagonist is holding on to a handle of a suitcase painted in Ms. Fedorova’s favourite colours. This ostensibly minor detail immediately captures the viewer’s attention: standing in stark contrast to the blue and grey shades of the rest of the canvas, it clearly becomes its focal point. The travel accessory acts as the epitome of something important that each of us carries through life, be it experience, knowledge, impressions, pain, grievances, disappointments, dreams or hopes.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Arabian Nights

The Artist embarked on creating a series of paintings that would later make up a separate thematic cluster within the COSMODREAMS project titled Arabian Nights after her trip to the Arabic countries.

Enchanted by the oriental culture, Ms. Marina Fedorova, as any true artist, resorts to the medium of painting to share her impressions. Hence she has integrated the previously experienced landscapes into the COSMODREAMS universe, merging her imaginary world with real cultural heritage sites of the Middle East. On this particular instance, the Artist used the theme of space conquest as a kind of bridge linking various civilisations – a domain of human endeavours providing limitless opportunities for scientific progress and other human achievements irrespective of cultural codes, faith or nationality. This philosophy is consistent with the doctrines voiced by the extraordinary Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) who believed that space exploration is bound to unite mankind into a single nation that would inhabit the endless expanse of the Universe while constantly growing in numbers.

One of the pictures in this cluster was inspired by the annual Traditional Dhow Boat Festival in Qatar. For centuries, wooden dhow boats have been navigating the Arabian Sea as the principal mode of transportation, bringing fresh water, fruit, and other commodities to local inhabitants. The painting illustrates the Artist’s fantasy about the preservation of the national and cultural heritage and the possible transformations of local cultural artefacts in the age of rapidly developing space technologies. The artwork bears a distinct imprint of Ms. Fedorova’s signature painting style, frequently seen in her urban landscapes. It gives us a chance to infer which city left a mark in the Artist’s heart and memory, and which people and events she now associates it with.

Characteristically, such paintings as There (2014) from the Reflections project (similar in terms of composition and even colour scheme), as well as NY (2014, Reflections), Night in the City (2015, Reflections), and other cityscapes rendered by the Artist clearly demonstrate Ms. Fedorova’s tendency to admire the beauty of human creations with a childlike candidness.

The Martian Night painting is a reference to the tales of One Thousand and One Nights with their enchanting plot twists, colourful characters, and magic. The Artist changes the setting of one of these spellbinding stories which now takes place in the extraterrestrial realms, on the red planet of Mars. The ancient folk tale acquires new shape: we see a future Aladdin who has nevertheless retained his cultural DNA and national identity with its characteristic mastery of magical objects and artefacts. As for the gymnast girl sculpture, this is one of the recurring images across the Artist’s oeuvre, allowing her to link together several distinct artworks within the COSMODREAMS project, including the Space Art Odyssey video and the 3D-printed sculpture. In addition, an AR scenario created for the picture effortlessly blends the classical painting elements of oil, canvas, and academic composition with advanced digital art medium.

The painting features various shades of reddish orange and blue – quite an unusual colour combination for the Artist. Orange is a multifaceted colour with rich symbolic meanings in different cultures. It is very much present in Asian religions, implying spiritual perfection and the ultimate state of enlightenment.

The Artist seems to allude to the wisdom and knowledge passed down with epic tales and legends which are never affected by time. In the modern world, traditional folk tales are as relevant as before and can easily adjust to current trends and circumstances.

White Mosque was inspired by one of the world’s largest mosques. The grand, impeccably white structure looks pure and weightless, as if floating above the ground. Ms. Marina Fedorova visualizes this priceless piece of architectural heritage intact after many centuries and perhaps even millennia, looking into the future with a firm belief that important cultural objects will retain their authenticity despite globalisation and the trailblazing discoveries in space.

Yet another artwork featuring a colour palette uncharacteristic of the Artist is called Al-‘Ula. Its title refers to the architectural landmark designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This until recently closed country is a true natural and cultural gem. The painting may be seen as Ms. Marina Fedorova’s evocative tribute to one of the majestic Nabatean tombs of Al-‘Ula. The inclusion of a spaceship into the picture connects it to the project’s recurring theme of space exploration. For this painting, too, the Artist came up with an alternative story realised as an AR scenario activated through the COSMODREAMS AR app. Digital art is employed here as an auxiliary tool allowing one to step beyond the confines of a two-dimensional canvas and imagine what could happen in this beautiful unspoilt oasis.

The subject and composition of the final work in this cluster is somewhat reminiscent of an older painting dating from 2011, At Home. In 222 Dubai, created in 2023, Ms. Fedorova also depicts a female figure standing with her back turned to the viewer and visually resembling the Artist herself. The female protagonist is staring out of a large panoramic window as the entire history of a country unfolds outside, witnessing the most sophisticated technologies being boldly introduced while the national identity is carefully preserved. Perhaps in the near future no one would be surprised by the sight of disk-shaped aircrafts like the one visible in the top right corner. By painting this minor detail against the clear sky, the Artist seems to hint at the idea of a bright and serene future professed by her predecessors, thinkers and scholars of the Russian cosmism movement, who envisioned the advancement of space technologies. The picture tangibly differs in mood from At Home; this difference is further reinforced by the fact that the protagonist is holding on to a handle of a suitcase painted in Ms. Fedorova’s favourite colours. This ostensibly minor detail immediately captures the viewer’s attention: standing in stark contrast to the blue and grey shades of the rest of the canvas, it clearly becomes its focal point. The travel accessory acts as the epitome of something important that each of us carries through life, be it experience, knowledge, impressions, pain, grievances, disappointments, dreams or hopes.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Chinese Fairy Tales

Ms. Marina Fedorova was born in the last years of the huge communist state. The Artist’s childhood and youth coincided with the turbulent period of the Russian 1990s and 2000s with its drastic changes. The world was gradually shifting gears, and with the fall of the Iron Curtain a torrent of new information rushed into the country. New values were introduced – along with the new style and appreciation of life – via the fresh and exciting imagery of fashion industry, mass market, and commercials that suddenly were everywhere.

Finding herself amid this new system of references, Ms. Marina Fedorova absorbed and processed the new trends, turning them into her own version of beauty. Highly perceptive of and sensitive to the messages that seemed to be in the air, she learned to express herself through images and identify through art.

The Artist’s ability to convey the spirit of times and create compelling paintings is brilliantly brought to bear in her large-scale space-inspired project. Delving into this subject, Ms. Fedorova inadvertently acts as the successor and proponent of the Russian cosmism movement. The ideas behind her COSMODREAMS project are in accord with the philosophical theories that emerged as early as the 1800s. While elaborating the cosmic theme, the Artist came to the creation of thematic clusters, each echoing the ideas voiced by the artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. For instance, the Dystopia cluster seems to be an unpremeditated visual reflection on the teachings of Nikolai Fyodorov (1829–1903), the founder of Russian cosmism who argued that the general disorder of human life results from the loss of harmony between man and nature. For the Russian philosophers who built on these ideas (Vladimir Solovyov, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank), mankind was the inheritor and continuer of life, not its destroyer. According to their beliefs, the meaning of life is in the negation of evil by doing good, thus asserting the life on the planet. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Russian cosmism is the connection between humans and space. This paradigm unexpectedly chimes with the wisdom passed on in the myths and legends of various ancient cultures, including the Chinese civilisation.

The Chinese Fairy Tales cluster took pride of place within the larger COSMODREAMS series for a reason. China is one of the most amazing and mysterious countries of the world. The birthplace of papermaking and book printing, gunpowder and compass, silk, and porcelain, as well as many other useful inventions and discoveries has always been a true magnet for historians, explorers, travellers, and of course artists. To a person from a different culture, this unique oriental tradition seems like a universe of its own. A great country boasting three millennia of cultural history, China is a place where tradition harmoniously blends with cutting-edge technology.

The paintings within this cluster illustrate various legends lying at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The Artist creates something akin to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ancient story.

The very title of the first painting in the series, Ten Suns, alludes to the Chinese legend about the ten celestial bodies that caused disasters and misfortunes. The story behind the artwork seems to dovetail with the premises of the Russian cosmism.

The vertically arranged picture with its S-shaped composition reminiscent of a wavy dragon spine produces a dynamic effect. This visual structure allows the Artist to create the illusion of spinning circles symbolising the ten suns of the Chinese legend. Appearing in the foreground and central to the composition is a disk-shaped unidentified flying object. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but in fact it was the point of departure for a whole new cluster within the COSMODREAMS project. The spaceship pictured here has either just landed on the picturesque land of China or has long since become part of its landscape. The Artist uses this element to spin a time-spanning story and extend it long into the future. The link of times can also be traced in the vertical composition dominated by mountains and inspired by the traditional Chinese ink paintings in which the mountainous ranges stood for the supporting pillars of creation representing on Earth the eternal Sky, the Skyward Path, the very pinnacle from which the Time itself comes pouring down. Humans have always considered such places as the abode of spirit and the symbol of inner peace.

The Artist uses a relatively monochrome colour palette avoiding extreme brightness: the shades chosen to tell the story are cool and subdued, suggesting emotional detachment, chilling clarity, a time stood still. It seems as if the creator of the painting were merely an observer, watching on as the plot develops. The traditional tales passed down through millennia, along with their decoded meanings, have already become part of the nation’s cultural DNA and will likely go on.

Two other important paintings of the Chinese Fairy Tales cluster are The Last Sun and Moon Festival. They continue the storyline of the oriental folk tale. The Last Sun, with its vivid bright colours and large male and female figures at the centre reminds one of a smart contemporary media poster or a stylish advertisement for a social cause spreading important cultural values. The picture illustrates a poignant legend of the power of love between a man and a woman, with the sun and the moon embodying the male and the female principles respectively.

The Artist expertly directs the viewer’s gaze, locking it right from the start on the brightest point at the very centre of the painting – the blazing sun serving as its backdrop and symbolising fire and majesty. The circle fit into the square composition sets it in spiralling motion and imparts dynamism to the picture. The meticulously painted male and female figures, apart from referencing the legendary Hou Yi and Chang’e, also put one in mind of the iconic yin and yang image denoting the relationship of the two opposites – light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon. The characters’ hands are interlocked, creating yet another circular motif within the picture – once again visualising the cyclical movement, the strong interrelation of the opposites forming an integral whole.

The second picture of the duo, Moon Festival, resembles the closing frame in a beautiful feature film. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the beautiful face of the girl and her observant eyes. The Artist creates the sensation of freely breathing wind and moving air by accurately rendering the strands of hair falling on the female character’s face. The dynamics of the picture is further reinforced by the use of bright contrasting colours against a dark background as well as its triangular composition. This triangle seems to direct the general upward motion. One look at the canvas is enough to realise that the vivid yellow brushstrokes represent the iconic Chinese lanterns. This is part of the mesmerising ritual accompanying each Moon Festival. The magical feeling is enhanced by the reflections of light painted on the water.

The borderline between land and water divides the painting in two. The viewer’s initial gaze meets the attentive eyes of the Moon Goddess, sweeps further to reach the waterline in the left corner, follows the horizon, and then rises again. The Artist thus directs the viewers’ eyes along this mentally constructed triangle, culminating at the top where they once again meet the eyes of Chang’e. We keep returning to this observant stare – yet another symbol of nature’s cycles, the motion of planets in their courses, and the change of seasons. The moon renews each month, forcing the humans to feel the effects of the cosmic order.

New Shanghai 3 is another important and striking painting in the series. Here, Ms. Fedorova once again depicts an urban landscape, but this time we observe it not from the outside but seemingly from the inside, as if belonging here. Utilising an elongated horizontal format, the Artist conveys the sensation of a wide open space. This format is ideal for demonstrating the action unfolding on several planes, while the diagonal composition imparts dynamic movement. The Artist shows the life of the city by putting to use the classical devices used to render movement, juxtaposing several different elements in one picture, intentionally painting certain details with a shifting effect, and avoiding perfect alignment of the triptych parts. In addition, she conveys the sensation of a blowing wind by carefully painting the protagonists’ windswept hair. The wind ruffles the girl’s hairdo and the soft fir of the other important character – the nine-tailed fox.

Ms. Fedorova finds this mythical creature from Chinese tales very appealing and recalls the ancient legend: the wise thousand-year-old fox can only appear at times when the world is at peace. In this respect, the female figure turns out to be a reincarnation of the mythical animal, as well as the link between the parts of the Chinese cosmogony triad: the Sky, the Earth, and the human world. Thus, the Artist references the concept of unity of the macro- and microcosms, also reflected in various myths about the origin of the world and humans.

Alongside the central images of the girl and the mythical fox, the viewer’s attention is focused on the two astronaut figures and two planets that uphold the recurring space theme of the series. This symmetry and duality are yet another manifestation of the balance and harmony between the two opposites.

Another urban landscape painted by Ms. Marina Fedorova for the series, Golden Gate, features a prominent landmark of Chengdu City, the Anshun Bridge, that has retained its original location and traditional design since the 13th century, despite the many renovations and the modern urban developments surrounding it. The imaginary cityscape illustrates the emergence of a new and yet unknown world. For this painting, the Artist chose her signature alla prima technique, swiftly capturing a fleeting emotional state triggered by reflections on the issue of immediate concern. She renders an imaginary cityscape that seems to attest to a successful colonisation of faraway planets and building of a new civilisation while preserving the national identity and culture of every ethnic group. That is why the painting’s eye-catching centrepiece is the golden gate complete with architectural elements that bear distinct ethnic features. In almost any culture, gates have traditionally symbolised the point of transition between worlds. In Ms. Fedorova’s painting, they indicate a passage into a new world accessible only to those who are ready to undergo an internal transformation in order to become part of the future.

Visible in the background is a large contemporary metropolis painted in green, nearly emerald hues. The Artist seems to have chosen these colours to accentuate the symbolic meaning of a new beginning, create an image of growth and development of a new civilisation far away from Earth. Full of energy and glow, the city is teeming with a fresh life force. This unrealistic, imaginary realm becomes part of the cosmic landscape and universal space, offering a glimpse not of the sunrises and sunsets that Earth dwellers are accustomed to, but of beautiful space nebulae, giving humans a chance to experience nature afresh. The Artist emphasises her subject matter by choosing a strikingly dark backdrop for the sky – the colour of the endless and unknown extraterrestrial space.

The irreality of the landscape is underscored by the three planets appearing in the sky. It is evident that this city belongs to a gravitationally bound system of some other major star.

The Black Egg painting takes the viewer on a journey into a world of magic, to some non-existent, fairytale place. This feeling is reinforced by the Artist’s choice of unusual shades of blue and violet rarely found in this particular combination in the world we are used to. This is an alternative reality, a mirage that might remain unattainable, more like a hologram than a real place, unless mankind changes its attitude towards nature – the source of all living things on Earth.

Painstakingly rendered with much detail are the magical flowers and the forest overgrown with ferns, sacral and mysterious. We see a world in which a life of its own takes place in parallel time, and something new is being born.

The Artist invites us to travel to a fantasy universe and stroll through this imaginary forest. Just like the Symbolists in the early 20th century, Ms. Fedorova manages to convey profound meanings using a simple and accessible story.

In Moon Pandas, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the images of cute animals epitomising peace and friendship. Pandas are adored the world over, thought to embody delicacy, harmony, and trust. The Artist depicts these charming creatures inside a domed glass greenhouse. The black and white bears set against a brightly coloured, somewhat idealistic background seem to want for nothing: their every need is met, with plenty of bamboo, flowers, and foliage provided.

The pandas themselves bring out only positive emotions and tenderness. Nevertheless, one can’t help noticing that, instead of enjoying a bright sunny day in their natural habitat, the animals are pictured against a cosmic background. Beyond this glass dome is the open space, a realm that is still uncharted territory for mankind, at the same time intriguing and – like all things unknown – subconsciously threatening. The Artist intentionally places these sweet creatures inside a space greenhouse: it symbolises her desire to preserve human warmth and affection, inner harmony, and integrity of soul no matter what living environment awaits humans in the future.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Chinese Fairy Tales

Ms. Marina Fedorova was born in the last years of the huge communist state. The Artist’s childhood and youth coincided with the turbulent period of the Russian 1990s and 2000s with its drastic changes. The world was gradually shifting gears, and with the fall of the Iron Curtain a torrent of new information rushed into the country. New values were introduced – along with the new style and appreciation of life – via the fresh and exciting imagery of fashion industry, mass market, and commercials that suddenly were everywhere.

Finding herself amid this new system of references, Ms. Marina Fedorova absorbed and processed the new trends, turning them into her own version of beauty. Highly perceptive of and sensitive to the messages that seemed to be in the air, she learned to express herself through images and identify through art.

The Artist’s ability to convey the spirit of times and create compelling paintings is brilliantly brought to bear in her large-scale space-inspired project. Delving into this subject, Ms. Fedorova inadvertently acts as the successor and proponent of the Russian cosmism movement. The ideas behind her COSMODREAMS project are in accord with the philosophical theories that emerged as early as the 1800s. While elaborating the cosmic theme, the Artist came to the creation of thematic clusters, each echoing the ideas voiced by the artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. For instance, the Dystopia cluster seems to be an unpremeditated visual reflection on the teachings of Nikolai Fyodorov (1829–1903), the founder of Russian cosmism who argued that the general disorder of human life results from the loss of harmony between man and nature. For the Russian philosophers who built on these ideas (Vladimir Solovyov, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank), mankind was the inheritor and continuer of life, not its destroyer. According to their beliefs, the meaning of life is in the negation of evil by doing good, thus asserting the life on the planet. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Russian cosmism is the connection between humans and space. This paradigm unexpectedly chimes with the wisdom passed on in the myths and legends of various ancient cultures, including the Chinese civilisation.

The Chinese Fairy Tales cluster took pride of place within the larger COSMODREAMS series for a reason. China is one of the most amazing and mysterious countries of the world. The birthplace of papermaking and book printing, gunpowder and compass, silk, and porcelain, as well as many other useful inventions and discoveries has always been a true magnet for historians, explorers, travellers, and of course artists. To a person from a different culture, this unique oriental tradition seems like a universe of its own. A great country boasting three millennia of cultural history, China is a place where tradition harmoniously blends with cutting-edge technology.

The paintings within this cluster illustrate various legends lying at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The Artist creates something akin to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ancient story.

The very title of the first painting in the series, Ten Suns, alludes to the Chinese legend about the ten celestial bodies that caused disasters and misfortunes. The story behind the artwork seems to dovetail with the premises of the Russian cosmism.

The vertically arranged picture with its S-shaped composition reminiscent of a wavy dragon spine produces a dynamic effect. This visual structure allows the Artist to create the illusion of spinning circles symbolising the ten suns of the Chinese legend. Appearing in the foreground and central to the composition is a disk-shaped unidentified flying object. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but in fact it was the point of departure for a whole new cluster within the COSMODREAMS project. The spaceship pictured here has either just landed on the picturesque land of China or has long since become part of its landscape. The Artist uses this element to spin a time-spanning story and extend it long into the future. The link of times can also be traced in the vertical composition dominated by mountains and inspired by the traditional Chinese ink paintings in which the mountainous ranges stood for the supporting pillars of creation representing on Earth the eternal Sky, the Skyward Path, the very pinnacle from which the Time itself comes pouring down. Humans have always considered such places as the abode of spirit and the symbol of inner peace.

The Artist uses a relatively monochrome colour palette avoiding extreme brightness: the shades chosen to tell the story are cool and subdued, suggesting emotional detachment, chilling clarity, a time stood still. It seems as if the creator of the painting were merely an observer, watching on as the plot develops. The traditional tales passed down through millennia, along with their decoded meanings, have already become part of the nation’s cultural DNA and will likely go on.

Two other important paintings of the Chinese Fairy Tales cluster are The Last Sun and Moon Festival. They continue the storyline of the oriental folk tale. The Last Sun, with its vivid bright colours and large male and female figures at the centre reminds one of a smart contemporary media poster or a stylish advertisement for a social cause spreading important cultural values. The picture illustrates a poignant legend of the power of love between a man and a woman, with the sun and the moon embodying the male and the female principles respectively.

The Artist expertly directs the viewer’s gaze, locking it right from the start on the brightest point at the very centre of the painting – the blazing sun serving as its backdrop and symbolising fire and majesty. The circle fit into the square composition sets it in spiralling motion and imparts dynamism to the picture. The meticulously painted male and female figures, apart from referencing the legendary Hou Yi and Chang’e, also put one in mind of the iconic yin and yang image denoting the relationship of the two opposites – light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon. The characters’ hands are interlocked, creating yet another circular motif within the picture – once again visualising the cyclical movement, the strong interrelation of the opposites forming an integral whole.

The second picture of the duo, Moon Festival, resembles the closing frame in a beautiful feature film. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the beautiful face of the girl and her observant eyes. The Artist creates the sensation of freely breathing wind and moving air by accurately rendering the strands of hair falling on the female character’s face. The dynamics of the picture is further reinforced by the use of bright contrasting colours against a dark background as well as its triangular composition. This triangle seems to direct the general upward motion. One look at the canvas is enough to realise that the vivid yellow brushstrokes represent the iconic Chinese lanterns. This is part of the mesmerising ritual accompanying each Moon Festival. The magical feeling is enhanced by the reflections of light painted on the water.

The borderline between land and water divides the painting in two. The viewer’s initial gaze meets the attentive eyes of the Moon Goddess, sweeps further to reach the waterline in the left corner, follows the horizon, and then rises again. The Artist thus directs the viewers’ eyes along this mentally constructed triangle, culminating at the top where they once again meet the eyes of Chang’e. We keep returning to this observant stare – yet another symbol of nature’s cycles, the motion of planets in their courses, and the change of seasons. The moon renews each month, forcing the humans to feel the effects of the cosmic order.

New Shanghai 3 is another important and striking painting in the series. Here, Ms. Fedorova once again depicts an urban landscape, but this time we observe it not from the outside but seemingly from the inside, as if belonging here. Utilising an elongated horizontal format, the Artist conveys the sensation of a wide open space. This format is ideal for demonstrating the action unfolding on several planes, while the diagonal composition imparts dynamic movement. The Artist shows the life of the city by putting to use the classical devices used to render movement, juxtaposing several different elements in one picture, intentionally painting certain details with a shifting effect, and avoiding perfect alignment of the triptych parts. In addition, she conveys the sensation of a blowing wind by carefully painting the protagonists’ windswept hair. The wind ruffles the girl’s hairdo and the soft fir of the other important character – the nine-tailed fox.

Ms. Fedorova finds this mythical creature from Chinese tales very appealing and recalls the ancient legend: the wise thousand-year-old fox can only appear at times when the world is at peace. In this respect, the female figure turns out to be a reincarnation of the mythical animal, as well as the link between the parts of the Chinese cosmogony triad: the Sky, the Earth, and the human world. Thus, the Artist references the concept of unity of the macro- and microcosms, also reflected in various myths about the origin of the world and humans.

Alongside the central images of the girl and the mythical fox, the viewer’s attention is focused on the two astronaut figures and two planets that uphold the recurring space theme of the series. This symmetry and duality are yet another manifestation of the balance and harmony between the two opposites.

Another urban landscape painted by Ms. Marina Fedorova for the series, Golden Gate, features a prominent landmark of Chengdu City, the Anshun Bridge, that has retained its original location and traditional design since the 13th century, despite the many renovations and the modern urban developments surrounding it. The imaginary cityscape illustrates the emergence of a new and yet unknown world. For this painting, the Artist chose her signature alla prima technique, swiftly capturing a fleeting emotional state triggered by reflections on the issue of immediate concern. She renders an imaginary cityscape that seems to attest to a successful colonisation of faraway planets and building of a new civilisation while preserving the national identity and culture of every ethnic group. That is why the painting’s eye-catching centrepiece is the golden gate complete with architectural elements that bear distinct ethnic features. In almost any culture, gates have traditionally symbolised the point of transition between worlds. In Ms. Fedorova’s painting, they indicate a passage into a new world accessible only to those who are ready to undergo an internal transformation in order to become part of the future.

Visible in the background is a large contemporary metropolis painted in green, nearly emerald hues. The Artist seems to have chosen these colours to accentuate the symbolic meaning of a new beginning, create an image of growth and development of a new civilisation far away from Earth. Full of energy and glow, the city is teeming with a fresh life force. This unrealistic, imaginary realm becomes part of the cosmic landscape and universal space, offering a glimpse not of the sunrises and sunsets that Earth dwellers are accustomed to, but of beautiful space nebulae, giving humans a chance to experience nature afresh. The Artist emphasises her subject matter by choosing a strikingly dark backdrop for the sky – the colour of the endless and unknown extraterrestrial space.

The irreality of the landscape is underscored by the three planets appearing in the sky. It is evident that this city belongs to a gravitationally bound system of some other major star.

The Black Egg painting takes the viewer on a journey into a world of magic, to some non-existent, fairytale place. This feeling is reinforced by the Artist’s choice of unusual shades of blue and violet rarely found in this particular combination in the world we are used to. This is an alternative reality, a mirage that might remain unattainable, more like a hologram than a real place, unless mankind changes its attitude towards nature – the source of all living things on Earth.

Painstakingly rendered with much detail are the magical flowers and the forest overgrown with ferns, sacral and mysterious. We see a world in which a life of its own takes place in parallel time, and something new is being born.

The Artist invites us to travel to a fantasy universe and stroll through this imaginary forest. Just like the Symbolists in the early 20th century, Ms. Fedorova manages to convey profound meanings using a simple and accessible story.

In Moon Pandas, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the images of cute animals epitomising peace and friendship. Pandas are adored the world over, thought to embody delicacy, harmony, and trust. The Artist depicts these charming creatures inside a domed glass greenhouse. The black and white bears set against a brightly coloured, somewhat idealistic background seem to want for nothing: their every need is met, with plenty of bamboo, flowers, and foliage provided.

The pandas themselves bring out only positive emotions and tenderness. Nevertheless, one can’t help noticing that, instead of enjoying a bright sunny day in their natural habitat, the animals are pictured against a cosmic background. Beyond this glass dome is the open space, a realm that is still uncharted territory for mankind, at the same time intriguing and – like all things unknown – subconsciously threatening. The Artist intentionally places these sweet creatures inside a space greenhouse: it symbolises her desire to preserve human warmth and affection, inner harmony, and integrity of soul no matter what living environment awaits humans in the future.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Chinese Fairy Tales

Ms. Marina Fedorova was born in the last years of the huge communist state. The Artist’s childhood and youth coincided with the turbulent period of the Russian 1990s and 2000s with its drastic changes. The world was gradually shifting gears, and with the fall of the Iron Curtain a torrent of new information rushed into the country. New values were introduced – along with the new style and appreciation of life – via the fresh and exciting imagery of fashion industry, mass market, and commercials that suddenly were everywhere.

Finding herself amid this new system of references, Ms. Marina Fedorova absorbed and processed the new trends, turning them into her own version of beauty. Highly perceptive of and sensitive to the messages that seemed to be in the air, she learned to express herself through images and identify through art.

The Artist’s ability to convey the spirit of times and create compelling paintings is brilliantly brought to bear in her large-scale space-inspired project. Delving into this subject, Ms. Fedorova inadvertently acts as the successor and proponent of the Russian cosmism movement. The ideas behind her COSMODREAMS project are in accord with the philosophical theories that emerged as early as the 1800s. While elaborating the cosmic theme, the Artist came to the creation of thematic clusters, each echoing the ideas voiced by the artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. For instance, the Dystopia cluster seems to be an unpremeditated visual reflection on the teachings of Nikolai Fyodorov (1829–1903), the founder of Russian cosmism who argued that the general disorder of human life results from the loss of harmony between man and nature. For the Russian philosophers who built on these ideas (Vladimir Solovyov, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank), mankind was the inheritor and continuer of life, not its destroyer. According to their beliefs, the meaning of life is in the negation of evil by doing good, thus asserting the life on the planet. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Russian cosmism is the connection between humans and space. This paradigm unexpectedly chimes with the wisdom passed on in the myths and legends of various ancient cultures, including the Chinese civilisation.

The Chinese Fairy Tales cluster took pride of place within the larger COSMODREAMS series for a reason. China is one of the most amazing and mysterious countries of the world. The birthplace of papermaking and book printing, gunpowder and compass, silk, and porcelain, as well as many other useful inventions and discoveries has always been a true magnet for historians, explorers, travellers, and of course artists. To a person from a different culture, this unique oriental tradition seems like a universe of its own. A great country boasting three millennia of cultural history, China is a place where tradition harmoniously blends with cutting-edge technology.

The paintings within this cluster illustrate various legends lying at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The Artist creates something akin to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ancient story.

The very title of the first painting in the series, Ten Suns, alludes to the Chinese legend about the ten celestial bodies that caused disasters and misfortunes. The story behind the artwork seems to dovetail with the premises of the Russian cosmism.

The vertically arranged picture with its S-shaped composition reminiscent of a wavy dragon spine produces a dynamic effect. This visual structure allows the Artist to create the illusion of spinning circles symbolising the ten suns of the Chinese legend. Appearing in the foreground and central to the composition is a disk-shaped unidentified flying object. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but in fact it was the point of departure for a whole new cluster within the COSMODREAMS project. The spaceship pictured here has either just landed on the picturesque land of China or has long since become part of its landscape. The Artist uses this element to spin a time-spanning story and extend it long into the future. The link of times can also be traced in the vertical composition dominated by mountains and inspired by the traditional Chinese ink paintings in which the mountainous ranges stood for the supporting pillars of creation representing on Earth the eternal Sky, the Skyward Path, the very pinnacle from which the Time itself comes pouring down. Humans have always considered such places as the abode of spirit and the symbol of inner peace.

The Artist uses a relatively monochrome colour palette avoiding extreme brightness: the shades chosen to tell the story are cool and subdued, suggesting emotional detachment, chilling clarity, a time stood still. It seems as if the creator of the painting were merely an observer, watching on as the plot develops. The traditional tales passed down through millennia, along with their decoded meanings, have already become part of the nation’s cultural DNA and will likely go on.

Two other important paintings of the Chinese Fairy Tales cluster are The Last Sun and Moon Festival. They continue the storyline of the oriental folk tale. The Last Sun, with its vivid bright colours and large male and female figures at the centre reminds one of a smart contemporary media poster or a stylish advertisement for a social cause spreading important cultural values. The picture illustrates a poignant legend of the power of love between a man and a woman, with the sun and the moon embodying the male and the female principles respectively.

The Artist expertly directs the viewer’s gaze, locking it right from the start on the brightest point at the very centre of the painting – the blazing sun serving as its backdrop and symbolising fire and majesty. The circle fit into the square composition sets it in spiralling motion and imparts dynamism to the picture. The meticulously painted male and female figures, apart from referencing the legendary Hou Yi and Chang’e, also put one in mind of the iconic yin and yang image denoting the relationship of the two opposites – light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon. The characters’ hands are interlocked, creating yet another circular motif within the picture – once again visualising the cyclical movement, the strong interrelation of the opposites forming an integral whole.

The second picture of the duo, Moon Festival, resembles the closing frame in a beautiful feature film. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the beautiful face of the girl and her observant eyes. The Artist creates the sensation of freely breathing wind and moving air by accurately rendering the strands of hair falling on the female character’s face. The dynamics of the picture is further reinforced by the use of bright contrasting colours against a dark background as well as its triangular composition. This triangle seems to direct the general upward motion. One look at the canvas is enough to realise that the vivid yellow brushstrokes represent the iconic Chinese lanterns. This is part of the mesmerising ritual accompanying each Moon Festival. The magical feeling is enhanced by the reflections of light painted on the water.

The borderline between land and water divides the painting in two. The viewer’s initial gaze meets the attentive eyes of the Moon Goddess, sweeps further to reach the waterline in the left corner, follows the horizon, and then rises again. The Artist thus directs the viewers’ eyes along this mentally constructed triangle, culminating at the top where they once again meet the eyes of Chang’e. We keep returning to this observant stare – yet another symbol of nature’s cycles, the motion of planets in their courses, and the change of seasons. The moon renews each month, forcing the humans to feel the effects of the cosmic order.

New Shanghai 3 is another important and striking painting in the series. Here, Ms. Fedorova once again depicts an urban landscape, but this time we observe it not from the outside but seemingly from the inside, as if belonging here. Utilising an elongated horizontal format, the Artist conveys the sensation of a wide open space. This format is ideal for demonstrating the action unfolding on several planes, while the diagonal composition imparts dynamic movement. The Artist shows the life of the city by putting to use the classical devices used to render movement, juxtaposing several different elements in one picture, intentionally painting certain details with a shifting effect, and avoiding perfect alignment of the triptych parts. In addition, she conveys the sensation of a blowing wind by carefully painting the protagonists’ windswept hair. The wind ruffles the girl’s hairdo and the soft fir of the other important character – the nine-tailed fox.

Ms. Fedorova finds this mythical creature from Chinese tales very appealing and recalls the ancient legend: the wise thousand-year-old fox can only appear at times when the world is at peace. In this respect, the female figure turns out to be a reincarnation of the mythical animal, as well as the link between the parts of the Chinese cosmogony triad: the Sky, the Earth, and the human world. Thus, the Artist references the concept of unity of the macro- and microcosms, also reflected in various myths about the origin of the world and humans.

Alongside the central images of the girl and the mythical fox, the viewer’s attention is focused on the two astronaut figures and two planets that uphold the recurring space theme of the series. This symmetry and duality are yet another manifestation of the balance and harmony between the two opposites.

Another urban landscape painted by Ms. Marina Fedorova for the series, Golden Gate, features a prominent landmark of Chengdu City, the Anshun Bridge, that has retained its original location and traditional design since the 13th century, despite the many renovations and the modern urban developments surrounding it. The imaginary cityscape illustrates the emergence of a new and yet unknown world. For this painting, the Artist chose her signature alla prima technique, swiftly capturing a fleeting emotional state triggered by reflections on the issue of immediate concern. She renders an imaginary cityscape that seems to attest to a successful colonisation of faraway planets and building of a new civilisation while preserving the national identity and culture of every ethnic group. That is why the painting’s eye-catching centrepiece is the golden gate complete with architectural elements that bear distinct ethnic features. In almost any culture, gates have traditionally symbolised the point of transition between worlds. In Ms. Fedorova’s painting, they indicate a passage into a new world accessible only to those who are ready to undergo an internal transformation in order to become part of the future.

Visible in the background is a large contemporary metropolis painted in green, nearly emerald hues. The Artist seems to have chosen these colours to accentuate the symbolic meaning of a new beginning, create an image of growth and development of a new civilisation far away from Earth. Full of energy and glow, the city is teeming with a fresh life force. This unrealistic, imaginary realm becomes part of the cosmic landscape and universal space, offering a glimpse not of the sunrises and sunsets that Earth dwellers are accustomed to, but of beautiful space nebulae, giving humans a chance to experience nature afresh. The Artist emphasises her subject matter by choosing a strikingly dark backdrop for the sky – the colour of the endless and unknown extraterrestrial space.

The irreality of the landscape is underscored by the three planets appearing in the sky. It is evident that this city belongs to a gravitationally bound system of some other major star.

The Black Egg painting takes the viewer on a journey into a world of magic, to some non-existent, fairytale place. This feeling is reinforced by the Artist’s choice of unusual shades of blue and violet rarely found in this particular combination in the world we are used to. This is an alternative reality, a mirage that might remain unattainable, more like a hologram than a real place, unless mankind changes its attitude towards nature – the source of all living things on Earth.

Painstakingly rendered with much detail are the magical flowers and the forest overgrown with ferns, sacral and mysterious. We see a world in which a life of its own takes place in parallel time, and something new is being born.

The Artist invites us to travel to a fantasy universe and stroll through this imaginary forest. Just like the Symbolists in the early 20th century, Ms. Fedorova manages to convey profound meanings using a simple and accessible story.

In Moon Pandas, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the images of cute animals epitomising peace and friendship. Pandas are adored the world over, thought to embody delicacy, harmony, and trust. The Artist depicts these charming creatures inside a domed glass greenhouse. The black and white bears set against a brightly coloured, somewhat idealistic background seem to want for nothing: their every need is met, with plenty of bamboo, flowers, and foliage provided.

The pandas themselves bring out only positive emotions and tenderness. Nevertheless, one can’t help noticing that, instead of enjoying a bright sunny day in their natural habitat, the animals are pictured against a cosmic background. Beyond this glass dome is the open space, a realm that is still uncharted territory for mankind, at the same time intriguing and – like all things unknown – subconsciously threatening. The Artist intentionally places these sweet creatures inside a space greenhouse: it symbolises her desire to preserve human warmth and affection, inner harmony, and integrity of soul no matter what living environment awaits humans in the future.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Chinese Fairy Tales

Ms. Marina Fedorova was born in the last years of the huge communist state. The Artist’s childhood and youth coincided with the turbulent period of the Russian 1990s and 2000s with its drastic changes. The world was gradually shifting gears, and with the fall of the Iron Curtain a torrent of new information rushed into the country. New values were introduced – along with the new style and appreciation of life – via the fresh and exciting imagery of fashion industry, mass market, and commercials that suddenly were everywhere.

Finding herself amid this new system of references, Ms. Marina Fedorova absorbed and processed the new trends, turning them into her own version of beauty. Highly perceptive of and sensitive to the messages that seemed to be in the air, she learned to express herself through images and identify through art.

The Artist’s ability to convey the spirit of times and create compelling paintings is brilliantly brought to bear in her large-scale space-inspired project. Delving into this subject, Ms. Fedorova inadvertently acts as the successor and proponent of the Russian cosmism movement. The ideas behind her COSMODREAMS project are in accord with the philosophical theories that emerged as early as the 1800s. While elaborating the cosmic theme, the Artist came to the creation of thematic clusters, each echoing the ideas voiced by the artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. For instance, the Dystopia cluster seems to be an unpremeditated visual reflection on the teachings of Nikolai Fyodorov (1829–1903), the founder of Russian cosmism who argued that the general disorder of human life results from the loss of harmony between man and nature. For the Russian philosophers who built on these ideas (Vladimir Solovyov, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank), mankind was the inheritor and continuer of life, not its destroyer. According to their beliefs, the meaning of life is in the negation of evil by doing good, thus asserting the life on the planet. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Russian cosmism is the connection between humans and space. This paradigm unexpectedly chimes with the wisdom passed on in the myths and legends of various ancient cultures, including the Chinese civilisation.

The Chinese Fairy Tales cluster took pride of place within the larger COSMODREAMS series for a reason. China is one of the most amazing and mysterious countries of the world. The birthplace of papermaking and book printing, gunpowder and compass, silk, and porcelain, as well as many other useful inventions and discoveries has always been a true magnet for historians, explorers, travellers, and of course artists. To a person from a different culture, this unique oriental tradition seems like a universe of its own. A great country boasting three millennia of cultural history, China is a place where tradition harmoniously blends with cutting-edge technology.

The paintings within this cluster illustrate various legends lying at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The Artist creates something akin to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ancient story.

The very title of the first painting in the series, Ten Suns, alludes to the Chinese legend about the ten celestial bodies that caused disasters and misfortunes. The story behind the artwork seems to dovetail with the premises of the Russian cosmism.

The vertically arranged picture with its S-shaped composition reminiscent of a wavy dragon spine produces a dynamic effect. This visual structure allows the Artist to create the illusion of spinning circles symbolising the ten suns of the Chinese legend. Appearing in the foreground and central to the composition is a disk-shaped unidentified flying object. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but in fact it was the point of departure for a whole new cluster within the COSMODREAMS project. The spaceship pictured here has either just landed on the picturesque land of China or has long since become part of its landscape. The Artist uses this element to spin a time-spanning story and extend it long into the future. The link of times can also be traced in the vertical composition dominated by mountains and inspired by the traditional Chinese ink paintings in which the mountainous ranges stood for the supporting pillars of creation representing on Earth the eternal Sky, the Skyward Path, the very pinnacle from which the Time itself comes pouring down. Humans have always considered such places as the abode of spirit and the symbol of inner peace.

The Artist uses a relatively monochrome colour palette avoiding extreme brightness: the shades chosen to tell the story are cool and subdued, suggesting emotional detachment, chilling clarity, a time stood still. It seems as if the creator of the painting were merely an observer, watching on as the plot develops. The traditional tales passed down through millennia, along with their decoded meanings, have already become part of the nation’s cultural DNA and will likely go on.

Two other important paintings of the Chinese Fairy Tales cluster are The Last Sun and Moon Festival. They continue the storyline of the oriental folk tale. The Last Sun, with its vivid bright colours and large male and female figures at the centre reminds one of a smart contemporary media poster or a stylish advertisement for a social cause spreading important cultural values. The picture illustrates a poignant legend of the power of love between a man and a woman, with the sun and the moon embodying the male and the female principles respectively.

The Artist expertly directs the viewer’s gaze, locking it right from the start on the brightest point at the very centre of the painting – the blazing sun serving as its backdrop and symbolising fire and majesty. The circle fit into the square composition sets it in spiralling motion and imparts dynamism to the picture. The meticulously painted male and female figures, apart from referencing the legendary Hou Yi and Chang’e, also put one in mind of the iconic yin and yang image denoting the relationship of the two opposites – light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon. The characters’ hands are interlocked, creating yet another circular motif within the picture – once again visualising the cyclical movement, the strong interrelation of the opposites forming an integral whole.

The second picture of the duo, Moon Festival, resembles the closing frame in a beautiful feature film. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the beautiful face of the girl and her observant eyes. The Artist creates the sensation of freely breathing wind and moving air by accurately rendering the strands of hair falling on the female character’s face. The dynamics of the picture is further reinforced by the use of bright contrasting colours against a dark background as well as its triangular composition. This triangle seems to direct the general upward motion. One look at the canvas is enough to realise that the vivid yellow brushstrokes represent the iconic Chinese lanterns. This is part of the mesmerising ritual accompanying each Moon Festival. The magical feeling is enhanced by the reflections of light painted on the water.

The borderline between land and water divides the painting in two. The viewer’s initial gaze meets the attentive eyes of the Moon Goddess, sweeps further to reach the waterline in the left corner, follows the horizon, and then rises again. The Artist thus directs the viewers’ eyes along this mentally constructed triangle, culminating at the top where they once again meet the eyes of Chang’e. We keep returning to this observant stare – yet another symbol of nature’s cycles, the motion of planets in their courses, and the change of seasons. The moon renews each month, forcing the humans to feel the effects of the cosmic order.

New Shanghai 3 is another important and striking painting in the series. Here, Ms. Fedorova once again depicts an urban landscape, but this time we observe it not from the outside but seemingly from the inside, as if belonging here. Utilising an elongated horizontal format, the Artist conveys the sensation of a wide open space. This format is ideal for demonstrating the action unfolding on several planes, while the diagonal composition imparts dynamic movement. The Artist shows the life of the city by putting to use the classical devices used to render movement, juxtaposing several different elements in one picture, intentionally painting certain details with a shifting effect, and avoiding perfect alignment of the triptych parts. In addition, she conveys the sensation of a blowing wind by carefully painting the protagonists’ windswept hair. The wind ruffles the girl’s hairdo and the soft fir of the other important character – the nine-tailed fox.

Ms. Fedorova finds this mythical creature from Chinese tales very appealing and recalls the ancient legend: the wise thousand-year-old fox can only appear at times when the world is at peace. In this respect, the female figure turns out to be a reincarnation of the mythical animal, as well as the link between the parts of the Chinese cosmogony triad: the Sky, the Earth, and the human world. Thus, the Artist references the concept of unity of the macro- and microcosms, also reflected in various myths about the origin of the world and humans.

Alongside the central images of the girl and the mythical fox, the viewer’s attention is focused on the two astronaut figures and two planets that uphold the recurring space theme of the series. This symmetry and duality are yet another manifestation of the balance and harmony between the two opposites.

Another urban landscape painted by Ms. Marina Fedorova for the series, Golden Gate, features a prominent landmark of Chengdu City, the Anshun Bridge, that has retained its original location and traditional design since the 13th century, despite the many renovations and the modern urban developments surrounding it. The imaginary cityscape illustrates the emergence of a new and yet unknown world. For this painting, the Artist chose her signature alla prima technique, swiftly capturing a fleeting emotional state triggered by reflections on the issue of immediate concern. She renders an imaginary cityscape that seems to attest to a successful colonisation of faraway planets and building of a new civilisation while preserving the national identity and culture of every ethnic group. That is why the painting’s eye-catching centrepiece is the golden gate complete with architectural elements that bear distinct ethnic features. In almost any culture, gates have traditionally symbolised the point of transition between worlds. In Ms. Fedorova’s painting, they indicate a passage into a new world accessible only to those who are ready to undergo an internal transformation in order to become part of the future.

Visible in the background is a large contemporary metropolis painted in green, nearly emerald hues. The Artist seems to have chosen these colours to accentuate the symbolic meaning of a new beginning, create an image of growth and development of a new civilisation far away from Earth. Full of energy and glow, the city is teeming with a fresh life force. This unrealistic, imaginary realm becomes part of the cosmic landscape and universal space, offering a glimpse not of the sunrises and sunsets that Earth dwellers are accustomed to, but of beautiful space nebulae, giving humans a chance to experience nature afresh. The Artist emphasises her subject matter by choosing a strikingly dark backdrop for the sky – the colour of the endless and unknown extraterrestrial space.

The irreality of the landscape is underscored by the three planets appearing in the sky. It is evident that this city belongs to a gravitationally bound system of some other major star.

The Black Egg painting takes the viewer on a journey into a world of magic, to some non-existent, fairytale place. This feeling is reinforced by the Artist’s choice of unusual shades of blue and violet rarely found in this particular combination in the world we are used to. This is an alternative reality, a mirage that might remain unattainable, more like a hologram than a real place, unless mankind changes its attitude towards nature – the source of all living things on Earth.

Painstakingly rendered with much detail are the magical flowers and the forest overgrown with ferns, sacral and mysterious. We see a world in which a life of its own takes place in parallel time, and something new is being born.

The Artist invites us to travel to a fantasy universe and stroll through this imaginary forest. Just like the Symbolists in the early 20th century, Ms. Fedorova manages to convey profound meanings using a simple and accessible story.

In Moon Pandas, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the images of cute animals epitomising peace and friendship. Pandas are adored the world over, thought to embody delicacy, harmony, and trust. The Artist depicts these charming creatures inside a domed glass greenhouse. The black and white bears set against a brightly coloured, somewhat idealistic background seem to want for nothing: their every need is met, with plenty of bamboo, flowers, and foliage provided.

The pandas themselves bring out only positive emotions and tenderness. Nevertheless, one can’t help noticing that, instead of enjoying a bright sunny day in their natural habitat, the animals are pictured against a cosmic background. Beyond this glass dome is the open space, a realm that is still uncharted territory for mankind, at the same time intriguing and – like all things unknown – subconsciously threatening. The Artist intentionally places these sweet creatures inside a space greenhouse: it symbolises her desire to preserve human warmth and affection, inner harmony, and integrity of soul no matter what living environment awaits humans in the future.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Arabian Nights

The Artist embarked on creating a series of paintings that would later make up a separate thematic cluster within the COSMODREAMS project titled Arabian Nights after her trip to the Arabic countries.

Enchanted by the oriental culture, Ms. Marina Fedorova, as any true artist, resorts to the medium of painting to share her impressions. Hence she has integrated the previously experienced landscapes into the COSMODREAMS universe, merging her imaginary world with real cultural heritage sites of the Middle East. On this particular instance, the Artist used the theme of space conquest as a kind of bridge linking various civilisations – a domain of human endeavours providing limitless opportunities for scientific progress and other human achievements irrespective of cultural codes, faith or nationality. This philosophy is consistent with the doctrines voiced by the extraordinary Russian and Soviet self-taught scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) who believed that space exploration is bound to unite mankind into a single nation that would inhabit the endless expanse of the Universe while constantly growing in numbers.

One of the pictures in this cluster was inspired by the annual Traditional Dhow Boat Festival in Qatar. For centuries, wooden dhow boats have been navigating the Arabian Sea as the principal mode of transportation, bringing fresh water, fruit, and other commodities to local inhabitants. The painting illustrates the Artist’s fantasy about the preservation of the national and cultural heritage and the possible transformations of local cultural artefacts in the age of rapidly developing space technologies. The artwork bears a distinct imprint of Ms. Fedorova’s signature painting style, frequently seen in her urban landscapes. It gives us a chance to infer which city left a mark in the Artist’s heart and memory, and which people and events she now associates it with.

Characteristically, such paintings as There (2014) from the Reflections project (similar in terms of composition and even colour scheme), as well as NY (2014, Reflections), Night in the City (2015, Reflections), and other cityscapes rendered by the Artist clearly demonstrate Ms. Fedorova’s tendency to admire the beauty of human creations with a childlike candidness.

The Martian Night painting is a reference to the tales of One Thousand and One Nights with their enchanting plot twists, colourful characters, and magic. The Artist changes the setting of one of these spellbinding stories which now takes place in the extraterrestrial realms, on the red planet of Mars. The ancient folk tale acquires new shape: we see a future Aladdin who has nevertheless retained his cultural DNA and national identity with its characteristic mastery of magical objects and artefacts. As for the gymnast girl sculpture, this is one of the recurring images across the Artist’s oeuvre, allowing her to link together several distinct artworks within the COSMODREAMS project, including the Space Art Odyssey video and the 3D-printed sculpture. In addition, an AR scenario created for the picture effortlessly blends the classical painting elements of oil, canvas, and academic composition with advanced digital art medium.

The painting features various shades of reddish orange and blue – quite an unusual colour combination for the Artist. Orange is a multifaceted colour with rich symbolic meanings in different cultures. It is very much present in Asian religions, implying spiritual perfection and the ultimate state of enlightenment.

The Artist seems to allude to the wisdom and knowledge passed down with epic tales and legends which are never affected by time. In the modern world, traditional folk tales are as relevant as before and can easily adjust to current trends and circumstances.

White Mosque was inspired by one of the world’s largest mosques. The grand, impeccably white structure looks pure and weightless, as if floating above the ground. Ms. Marina Fedorova visualizes this priceless piece of architectural heritage intact after many centuries and perhaps even millennia, looking into the future with a firm belief that important cultural objects will retain their authenticity despite globalisation and the trailblazing discoveries in space.

Yet another artwork featuring a colour palette uncharacteristic of the Artist is called Al-‘Ula. Its title refers to the architectural landmark designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This until recently closed country is a true natural and cultural gem. The painting may be seen as Ms. Marina Fedorova’s evocative tribute to one of the majestic Nabatean tombs of Al-‘Ula. The inclusion of a spaceship into the picture connects it to the project’s recurring theme of space exploration. For this painting, too, the Artist came up with an alternative story realised as an AR scenario activated through the COSMODREAMS AR app. Digital art is employed here as an auxiliary tool allowing one to step beyond the confines of a two-dimensional canvas and imagine what could happen in this beautiful unspoilt oasis.

The subject and composition of the final work in this cluster is somewhat reminiscent of an older painting dating from 2011, At Home. In 222 Dubai, created in 2023, Ms. Fedorova also depicts a female figure standing with her back turned to the viewer and visually resembling the Artist herself. The female protagonist is staring out of a large panoramic window as the entire history of a country unfolds outside, witnessing the most sophisticated technologies being boldly introduced while the national identity is carefully preserved. Perhaps in the near future no one would be surprised by the sight of disk-shaped aircrafts like the one visible in the top right corner. By painting this minor detail against the clear sky, the Artist seems to hint at the idea of a bright and serene future professed by her predecessors, thinkers and scholars of the Russian cosmism movement, who envisioned the advancement of space technologies. The picture tangibly differs in mood from At Home; this difference is further reinforced by the fact that the protagonist is holding on to a handle of a suitcase painted in Ms. Fedorova’s favourite colours. This ostensibly minor detail immediately captures the viewer’s attention: standing in stark contrast to the blue and grey shades of the rest of the canvas, it clearly becomes its focal point. The travel accessory acts as the epitome of something important that each of us carries through life, be it experience, knowledge, impressions, pain, grievances, disappointments, dreams or hopes.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Chinese Fairy Tales

Ms. Marina Fedorova was born in the last years of the huge communist state. The Artist’s childhood and youth coincided with the turbulent period of the Russian 1990s and 2000s with its drastic changes. The world was gradually shifting gears, and with the fall of the Iron Curtain a torrent of new information rushed into the country. New values were introduced – along with the new style and appreciation of life – via the fresh and exciting imagery of fashion industry, mass market, and commercials that suddenly were everywhere.

Finding herself amid this new system of references, Ms. Marina Fedorova absorbed and processed the new trends, turning them into her own version of beauty. Highly perceptive of and sensitive to the messages that seemed to be in the air, she learned to express herself through images and identify through art.

The Artist’s ability to convey the spirit of times and create compelling paintings is brilliantly brought to bear in her large-scale space-inspired project. Delving into this subject, Ms. Fedorova inadvertently acts as the successor and proponent of the Russian cosmism movement. The ideas behind her COSMODREAMS project are in accord with the philosophical theories that emerged as early as the 1800s. While elaborating the cosmic theme, the Artist came to the creation of thematic clusters, each echoing the ideas voiced by the artists and philosophers at the dawn of the 20th century. For instance, the Dystopia cluster seems to be an unpremeditated visual reflection on the teachings of Nikolai Fyodorov (1829–1903), the founder of Russian cosmism who argued that the general disorder of human life results from the loss of harmony between man and nature. For the Russian philosophers who built on these ideas (Vladimir Solovyov, Pavel Florensky, Semyon Frank), mankind was the inheritor and continuer of life, not its destroyer. According to their beliefs, the meaning of life is in the negation of evil by doing good, thus asserting the life on the planet. The fundamental idea at the heart of the Russian cosmism is the connection between humans and space. This paradigm unexpectedly chimes with the wisdom passed on in the myths and legends of various ancient cultures, including the Chinese civilisation.

The Chinese Fairy Tales cluster took pride of place within the larger COSMODREAMS series for a reason. China is one of the most amazing and mysterious countries of the world. The birthplace of papermaking and book printing, gunpowder and compass, silk, and porcelain, as well as many other useful inventions and discoveries has always been a true magnet for historians, explorers, travellers, and of course artists. To a person from a different culture, this unique oriental tradition seems like a universe of its own. A great country boasting three millennia of cultural history, China is a place where tradition harmoniously blends with cutting-edge technology.

The paintings within this cluster illustrate various legends lying at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The Artist creates something akin to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ancient story.

The very title of the first painting in the series, Ten Suns, alludes to the Chinese legend about the ten celestial bodies that caused disasters and misfortunes. The story behind the artwork seems to dovetail with the premises of the Russian cosmism.

The vertically arranged picture with its S-shaped composition reminiscent of a wavy dragon spine produces a dynamic effect. This visual structure allows the Artist to create the illusion of spinning circles symbolising the ten suns of the Chinese legend. Appearing in the foreground and central to the composition is a disk-shaped unidentified flying object. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but in fact it was the point of departure for a whole new cluster within the COSMODREAMS project. The spaceship pictured here has either just landed on the picturesque land of China or has long since become part of its landscape. The Artist uses this element to spin a time-spanning story and extend it long into the future. The link of times can also be traced in the vertical composition dominated by mountains and inspired by the traditional Chinese ink paintings in which the mountainous ranges stood for the supporting pillars of creation representing on Earth the eternal Sky, the Skyward Path, the very pinnacle from which the Time itself comes pouring down. Humans have always considered such places as the abode of spirit and the symbol of inner peace.

The Artist uses a relatively monochrome colour palette avoiding extreme brightness: the shades chosen to tell the story are cool and subdued, suggesting emotional detachment, chilling clarity, a time stood still. It seems as if the creator of the painting were merely an observer, watching on as the plot develops. The traditional tales passed down through millennia, along with their decoded meanings, have already become part of the nation’s cultural DNA and will likely go on.

Two other important paintings of the Chinese Fairy Tales cluster are The Last Sun and Moon Festival. They continue the storyline of the oriental folk tale. The Last Sun, with its vivid bright colours and large male and female figures at the centre reminds one of a smart contemporary media poster or a stylish advertisement for a social cause spreading important cultural values. The picture illustrates a poignant legend of the power of love between a man and a woman, with the sun and the moon embodying the male and the female principles respectively.

The Artist expertly directs the viewer’s gaze, locking it right from the start on the brightest point at the very centre of the painting – the blazing sun serving as its backdrop and symbolising fire and majesty. The circle fit into the square composition sets it in spiralling motion and imparts dynamism to the picture. The meticulously painted male and female figures, apart from referencing the legendary Hou Yi and Chang’e, also put one in mind of the iconic yin and yang image denoting the relationship of the two opposites – light and darkness, day and night, the sun and the moon. The characters’ hands are interlocked, creating yet another circular motif within the picture – once again visualising the cyclical movement, the strong interrelation of the opposites forming an integral whole.

The second picture of the duo, Moon Festival, resembles the closing frame in a beautiful feature film. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the beautiful face of the girl and her observant eyes. The Artist creates the sensation of freely breathing wind and moving air by accurately rendering the strands of hair falling on the female character’s face. The dynamics of the picture is further reinforced by the use of bright contrasting colours against a dark background as well as its triangular composition. This triangle seems to direct the general upward motion. One look at the canvas is enough to realise that the vivid yellow brushstrokes represent the iconic Chinese lanterns. This is part of the mesmerising ritual accompanying each Moon Festival. The magical feeling is enhanced by the reflections of light painted on the water.

The borderline between land and water divides the painting in two. The viewer’s initial gaze meets the attentive eyes of the Moon Goddess, sweeps further to reach the waterline in the left corner, follows the horizon, and then rises again. The Artist thus directs the viewers’ eyes along this mentally constructed triangle, culminating at the top where they once again meet the eyes of Chang’e. We keep returning to this observant stare – yet another symbol of nature’s cycles, the motion of planets in their courses, and the change of seasons. The moon renews each month, forcing the humans to feel the effects of the cosmic order.

New Shanghai 3 is another important and striking painting in the series. Here, Ms. Fedorova once again depicts an urban landscape, but this time we observe it not from the outside but seemingly from the inside, as if belonging here. Utilising an elongated horizontal format, the Artist conveys the sensation of a wide open space. This format is ideal for demonstrating the action unfolding on several planes, while the diagonal composition imparts dynamic movement. The Artist shows the life of the city by putting to use the classical devices used to render movement, juxtaposing several different elements in one picture, intentionally painting certain details with a shifting effect, and avoiding perfect alignment of the triptych parts. In addition, she conveys the sensation of a blowing wind by carefully painting the protagonists’ windswept hair. The wind ruffles the girl’s hairdo and the soft fir of the other important character – the nine-tailed fox.

Ms. Fedorova finds this mythical creature from Chinese tales very appealing and recalls the ancient legend: the wise thousand-year-old fox can only appear at times when the world is at peace. In this respect, the female figure turns out to be a reincarnation of the mythical animal, as well as the link between the parts of the Chinese cosmogony triad: the Sky, the Earth, and the human world. Thus, the Artist references the concept of unity of the macro- and microcosms, also reflected in various myths about the origin of the world and humans.

Alongside the central images of the girl and the mythical fox, the viewer’s attention is focused on the two astronaut figures and two planets that uphold the recurring space theme of the series. This symmetry and duality are yet another manifestation of the balance and harmony between the two opposites.

Another urban landscape painted by Ms. Marina Fedorova for the series, Golden Gate, features a prominent landmark of Chengdu City, the Anshun Bridge, that has retained its original location and traditional design since the 13th century, despite the many renovations and the modern urban developments surrounding it. The imaginary cityscape illustrates the emergence of a new and yet unknown world. For this painting, the Artist chose her signature alla prima technique, swiftly capturing a fleeting emotional state triggered by reflections on the issue of immediate concern. She renders an imaginary cityscape that seems to attest to a successful colonisation of faraway planets and building of a new civilisation while preserving the national identity and culture of every ethnic group. That is why the painting’s eye-catching centrepiece is the golden gate complete with architectural elements that bear distinct ethnic features. In almost any culture, gates have traditionally symbolised the point of transition between worlds. In Ms. Fedorova’s painting, they indicate a passage into a new world accessible only to those who are ready to undergo an internal transformation in order to become part of the future.

Visible in the background is a large contemporary metropolis painted in green, nearly emerald hues. The Artist seems to have chosen these colours to accentuate the symbolic meaning of a new beginning, create an image of growth and development of a new civilisation far away from Earth. Full of energy and glow, the city is teeming with a fresh life force. This unrealistic, imaginary realm becomes part of the cosmic landscape and universal space, offering a glimpse not of the sunrises and sunsets that Earth dwellers are accustomed to, but of beautiful space nebulae, giving humans a chance to experience nature afresh. The Artist emphasises her subject matter by choosing a strikingly dark backdrop for the sky – the colour of the endless and unknown extraterrestrial space.

The irreality of the landscape is underscored by the three planets appearing in the sky. It is evident that this city belongs to a gravitationally bound system of some other major star.

The Black Egg painting takes the viewer on a journey into a world of magic, to some non-existent, fairytale place. This feeling is reinforced by the Artist’s choice of unusual shades of blue and violet rarely found in this particular combination in the world we are used to. This is an alternative reality, a mirage that might remain unattainable, more like a hologram than a real place, unless mankind changes its attitude towards nature – the source of all living things on Earth.

Painstakingly rendered with much detail are the magical flowers and the forest overgrown with ferns, sacral and mysterious. We see a world in which a life of its own takes place in parallel time, and something new is being born.

The Artist invites us to travel to a fantasy universe and stroll through this imaginary forest. Just like the Symbolists in the early 20th century, Ms. Fedorova manages to convey profound meanings using a simple and accessible story.

In Moon Pandas, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the images of cute animals epitomising peace and friendship. Pandas are adored the world over, thought to embody delicacy, harmony, and trust. The Artist depicts these charming creatures inside a domed glass greenhouse. The black and white bears set against a brightly coloured, somewhat idealistic background seem to want for nothing: their every need is met, with plenty of bamboo, flowers, and foliage provided.

The pandas themselves bring out only positive emotions and tenderness. Nevertheless, one can’t help noticing that, instead of enjoying a bright sunny day in their natural habitat, the animals are pictured against a cosmic background. Beyond this glass dome is the open space, a realm that is still uncharted territory for mankind, at the same time intriguing and – like all things unknown – subconsciously threatening. The Artist intentionally places these sweet creatures inside a space greenhouse: it symbolises her desire to preserve human warmth and affection, inner harmony, and integrity of soul no matter what living environment awaits humans in the future.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Legacies

Legacies represents a logical development of the previous theme. What kind of legacy shall we pass on to the next generations, and what will their future be like if we don’t consider all possible consequences for decades ahead when making decisions today?

One of the most widely discussed issues lately is childbirth and child rearing in the modern society, along with various aspects of children’s adjustment and development in the hi-tech environment. Areas of major concern are the effects of technology on the young minds and bodies, developing cognitive processes, and the experience of childhood itself, so vastly different now from what it used to be in the 20th century. The technical progress and life in the constant presence of technology is the new normal, shaping the now-natural human environment. In what ways will this invariable exposure to computer innovations and developments massively applied on a daily basis influence the life of the future generations, their ability to feel and experience reality, their social skills and empathy? Will our descendants still be capable of establishing meaningful relations and becoming conscientious members of the society? Will virtual values replace the real ones?

This series was conceived as the Artist’s tentative vision of scenes and situations which hopefully will not materialize any time soon, such as children having no knowledge of what pure spring water, luscious green grass or blue skies are like.

Ms. Fedorova’s paintings invite the viewer to engage in a dialogue. Feeling a certain nostalgia for the times now past, the Artist can’t overemphasise the fact that any generation was, is, and will be susceptible to a form of nostalgic yearning for the unknown.

After all, the grass is always greener on the other side.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert

Legacies

Legacies represents a logical development of the previous theme. What kind of legacy shall we pass on to the next generations, and what will their future be like if we don’t consider all possible consequences for decades ahead when making decisions today?

One of the most widely discussed issues lately is childbirth and child rearing in the modern society, along with various aspects of children’s adjustment and development in the hi-tech environment. Areas of major concern are the effects of technology on the young minds and bodies, developing cognitive processes, and the experience of childhood itself, so vastly different now from what it used to be in the 20th century. The technical progress and life in the constant presence of technology is the new normal, shaping the now-natural human environment. In what ways will this invariable exposure to computer innovations and developments massively applied on a daily basis influence the life of the future generations, their ability to feel and experience reality, their social skills and empathy? Will our descendants still be capable of establishing meaningful relations and becoming conscientious members of the society? Will virtual values replace the real ones?

This series was conceived as the Artist’s tentative vision of scenes and situations which hopefully will not materialize any time soon, such as children having no knowledge of what pure spring water, luscious green grass or blue skies are like.

Ms. Fedorova’s paintings invite the viewer to engage in a dialogue. Feeling a certain nostalgia for the times now past, the Artist can’t overemphasise the fact that any generation was, is, and will be susceptible to a form of nostalgic yearning for the unknown.

After all, the grass is always greener on the other side.

Aleksandra Danilovskikh
Art Historian, Art Expert