Taus Makhacheva (b. 1983 Moscow, Russia) is known predominantly for her performance and video works that critically examine what happens when different cultures and traditions come into contact with one another. Having grown up in Moscow with cultural origins in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, her artistic practice is informed by this personal connection with the co-existing worlds of pre and post Sovietisation. Oftentimes humorous, her works attempt to test the resilience of images, objects and bodies in today’s world.
The practice of Taus Makhacheva embraces a wide range of media including performance, video, and installations, which critically examine the results of different cultures and traditions meeting. Having grown up in Moscow with cultural origins in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, her artistic practice is informed by this personal connection with the co-existing worlds of pre- and post-Sovietisation. Often humorous, her works attempt to test the resilience of images, objects and bodies in today’s world.
In her new work Quantitative Infinity of the Objective, the artist transforms the gallery space into a gym where the exercise machines appear in non-standardized shapes and sizes. The audio component announces a series of authoritative clichés used in institutional and private spaces. Removed from their familiar context the obsessive and traumatic aspect of the language is amplified revealing crippling communicative models loaded with passive aggression. Resilience to this intergenerational use of language is in question here as the performers circulate through the space exhibiting anxiety, doubt and finally the perfecting of their skills. The experience of the piece provokes a reflection on a possibility of detaching, healing and resisting current social patterns.
Taus Makhacheva (b. 1983 Moscow, Russia) is known predominantly for her performance and video works that critically examine what happens when different cultures and traditions come into contact with one another. Having grown up in Moscow with cultural origins in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, her artistic practice is informed by this personal connection with the co-existing worlds of pre and post Sovietisation. Oftentimes humorous, her works attempt to test the resilience of images, objects and bodies in today’s world.
The practice of Taus Makhacheva embraces a wide range of media including performance, video, and installations, which critically examine the results of different cultures and traditions meeting. Having grown up in Moscow with cultural origins in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, her artistic practice is informed by this personal connection with the co-existing worlds of pre- and post-Sovietisation. Often humorous, her works attempt to test the resilience of images, objects and bodies in today’s world.
In her new work Quantitative Infinity of the Objective, the artist transforms the gallery space into a gym where the exercise machines appear in non-standardized shapes and sizes. The audio component announces a series of authoritative clichés used in institutional and private spaces. Removed from their familiar context the obsessive and traumatic aspect of the language is amplified revealing crippling communicative models loaded with passive aggression. Resilience to this intergenerational use of language is in question here as the performers circulate through the space exhibiting anxiety, doubt and finally the perfecting of their skills. The experience of the piece provokes a reflection on a possibility of detaching, healing and resisting current social patterns.
