Description: The philologist Valentin Nepomniachtchi believes that “unsupportedness” is a lack of independence, a detachment from roots, despite being grounded in nature. This uneven, raw feeling, which arose during the first walk on the ice of Lake Baikal, is the subject of the video. It relates to the comparison of a person as a second nature with nature as a mother, overwhelming with its scale, power, and wildness. It leads to the realization of oneself as a speck of dust, a brief moment in time, an excess or even a mistake. It is an attempt at positioning: from mimicry and witnessing to the search for meaning in this shared journey.
- Camera, editing, sound: Elza Abdulkhakova, Rustam Nerustam
- Color correction: Rustam Nerustam
- Composer: Magulya Mezinova
- Titles: Victoria Kibe
- Special thanks: Elvira Abdulkhakova, Evgeniya Fomina
Created as a part of the laboratory of the New Dance Academy on Baikal
Curator: Siia Lonshakova
Elza Abdulkhakova Elza Abdulkhakova (b. 1990) is an artist and curator working at the intersection of contemporary dance, performance, and video art. Based in St Petersburg, her practice explores corporeality, movement, and the performative potential of the body in both solo and collaborative projects. Abdulkhakova has worked with key cultural institutions in Russia, including the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, V-A-C Foundation, and the N.A. Nekrasov Library. Her artistic research extends into curatorial initiatives and experimental laboratories focused on movement and identity.
Since 2020, Abdulkhakova has collaborated with artist Herman Stroganov as part of the Abdulkhakova Stroganov Dance Company (ASDC), investigating the intersection of dance and video. She is also a member of forbidden body language (since 2021) and tridevyat’, a St. Petersburg-based artistic collective (since 2024). In her choreographic and performative projects, she engages with various artistic mediums, creating dance installations, video works, and site-specific performances.
Her educational background includes studies at the IDC Professional Online Program (St. Petersburg), the New Dance Academy of Olga Tsvetkova, and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Moscow). Additionally, she has completed programs at the Higher School of Economics (Moscow) in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, and St. Petersburg State University.
