The online exhibition Keep Yourself Clean presents a reconstruction of the art collective’s VOLNA major works from 2016 to the present in a virtual space. Exhibition spaces and installations are created using video game development tools that simulate real-time lighting effects and scenes. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the surroundings of each installation and can move freely in the room and choose any observation point.

Despite the site-specific nature of the works, the overarching artistic principle behind all of them is the search for a universal language of pure forms. These forms, which correspond to the abstract subjects of the installations, are freed of excessive details, minimalistic in their expressiveness and often even have a functional nature.

The primary expressive element in VOLNA’s work is light and its various characteristics, its interaction with space, as well as its movement, the rhythm of chiaroscuro and the way scenarios unfold in relation to time. Some works include synchronized sound, created to interact closely with the light’s dramaturgy. The audiovisual installations NEUBAU (2016), Powerline (2017) and Rotor (2018), the light installation Octave (2018), the installation Vague (2019), and two kinetic light installations, Duel (2019) and Nymphéas (2020) were reconstructed for the exhibition.

VOLNA is based in St. Petersburg (Russia).  Since its formation in 2016, the group has dedicated itself to creating lighting art that incorporates interdisciplinary artistic practices and new technologies. The artists are known for their unusual exhibition formats, monumental installations and scenographic creations for the electronic music scene.

Source: VOLNA
Cover image: “Rotor”