WAITING AREA

Sound installation, video documentation

2’04’’

2019

Nickel Russia

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To create her unique total installation inside the old railway station building Maria Zaikina, Moscow based Russian artist who likes to work with all these fascinating northern contexts, has been interviewing locals in Nickel for almost two weeks. Her only question was what is that they were waiting for? Railway stations are not only connected with meeting and parting. They also have a lot to do with waiting as both spending time and aspiring something that is about to happen. The artist suggested people in Nickel taking a time to contemplate their hopes and fears, answering a plain and naive what-are-you-waiting-for question. It is important not to stop dreaming and hoping when there is polar night outside. So the waiting area is not only a particular place but a helluva strong metaphor. The artist has filled it with the choir of different voices telling us they are waiting for different things. Bags and suitcases are here to embody the luggage of the past that ironically helps one to get right into the his or her future.

Official composer: Mariana Ungureanu, professor at Conservatoire de Paris.

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Text by Alexandra Kremenets

Photos by Anton River