Anna Nova Gallery and the project New Holland: Cultural Urbanisation will present a three-channel video installation Out of the Abyss by the American artist Jonathan Monaghan. A 19-minute loop video is shown from 22 July until 28 August at the Pavilion.
Depicting a bizarre yet haunting world Jonathan in his work will recreate our fears and anxieties about a high-tech future. The video combines imagery from modern consumerism with a biblical symbols associated with the Apocalypse and presents traditional images of horsemen as the creepy creatures of modernity in bright purple armour. Adorned with surveillance cameras and riot gear, they are also equipped with objects from our everyday lives — a selfie stick and a yoga mat — which become mythological symbols. The artist criticises capitalism, widespread surveillance systems and big-brand culture, and draws the viewer's attention to the disappearing boundaries between the natural and the artificial.
The installation Out of the Abyss was shown at Jonathan Monaghan's first solo exhibition in Russia — A Trace Left by the Future — at Anna Nova Gallery in 2020.
The video will be presented at the New Holland Pavilion (St. Petersburg, Admiralteysky Canal Embankment, 2). Opening hours: every day from 12 am to 20 pm. Free admission.
Photo: Gleb Shirokov
