I was born in Leningrad (currently St. Petersburg, Russia) in 1988 at the turn of the epochs. Then there were five years in Germany, then another six months in Belgium and Switzerland, and then return to St. Petersburg. But, despite numerous moves both within Russia and abroad, every time I dream about home, I always see our small communal apartment in the so called “Merry district”. Today, all that remains of my childhood are archival photographs. The house on Ogneva street in Merry district is still there, in place, but not the spirit of the 90s. The entrance does not stink anymore, and no one tears the plaster off the walls, carving the inscription of Viktor Tsoy’s songs. From the park itself in front of the house, where we played and chased the ball with the guys, there is only a small green strip left. Instead of slender linder trees, another shopping center now is there and multi-storey apartment blocks are being built. Now I can only touch my childhood through the archives of memories, visualization and dreams.   

“Merry Village” is a documentary performative story based on memories and family photo/video archives. 

The project was presented as part of the collective outdoor exhibition at “Noorderlicht International Photo Festival: The Makeable Mind” in Groningen & Friesland, the Netherlands in August-October 2021 (see photos below), as well as at joint 2021 online exhibition “When there is no future” on “Wall-Online” and joint exhibition “Where past remains” organized by “Postoronnye” art collective in St. Petersburg in April, 2021.