Who I Wasn't - is an exhibition-presentation of the project Latitude and longitude, which will be held in the Winzavod's Fertility Hall.

Winzavod's Fertility Hall is a spacious linear space that dictates the structure of the exposition. Classic hanging in minimalistic frames accentuates the works themselves, not the way they are exposed.

The exposition presents the works of artists who are in constant social isolation; all of them are residents of psychoneurological boarding schools in St. Petersburg. 

It is becoming increasingly difficult for a modern person to be surprised by something. We travel, communicate with people fr om different parts of the world, learn new things, try different foods, comprehend complicated philosophical questions, enjoy art, we are surrounded by billions of objects with incomprehensible structure and incredible possibilities. Being in this field of information stimulation makes us us, shapes the personality of every individual and entire generations. But if you imagine for a moment that all of this is gone. There are a minimum of things and possibilities left. An enclosed space. External life has faded, turning into a limited set of rituals that help maintain life. 

Being cut off fr om the full flow of information, the residents of boarding schools are forced to direct their cognitive energy through the thin channel of the poor to the events of life. Then the way of accepting the reality is to go into a timeless personal space, wh ere one can take any place of his or her own accord, "reshape" and rethink himself or herself and the world, find those emotions and feelings that are simply not available in the material world. The view of the artist, greedy and interested, is the optic that gives us the opportunity to see in everyday things their hidden nature. The ability to imagine allows us to surprise and wonder, unites us and gives us the ability to understand first and then be understood. 

Artists: 

Vitaly Koluzayev, Yulia Kosulnikova, Yury Kozlov, Alexey Sakhnov, Yury Zelenko, Alexander Chellak.

Curators:

Yulia Kurmangalina - curator, theatre teacher, inspirer of Latitude and Dolgota; 

Sasha Kulak - documentary film director, cameraman, media artist.

With the support of Marina Tsurtsumiya, Maria Federmesser and Georgy Tashker, Sasha Kulak is a documentary film director, cameraman and media artist.

Latitude and longitude is an association of artists, art historians and curators who are passionate about finding and supporting amateur art.

The project seeks out and supports artists who are socially excluded. These are people who are treated in psychiatric hospitals, live in psycho-neurological boarding schools (PNI, wh ere people after 18 years of age with mental and/or physical disabilities are placed), or in villages and villages that are difficult to access. 

Our goal is to help these people as artists (creating comfortable conditions for creativity, organizing exhibitions, information support) and to preserve their cultural heritage. An important element of our project is to educate the staff of boarding schools and hospitals about inclusion, art and neurodiversity.

The art of people in social and cultural isolation is devoid of imitation and academicism. Our task is to convey these unique artistic practices to a wide audience and to connect society and closed institutions through the arts.

The project has existed since 2016 and works with major art institutions: The State Centre for Contemporary Art, Russian Museum, Fountain House, Vadim Sidur Museum, CSI Winzavod, State Hermitage Museum. 

During this time we took part in more than 20 exhibition projects: 

IV Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art: New Literacy, Main Program, Ekaterinburg, 2017

Russian Museum, Ar Brutus. Convergence, St Petersburg, 2019

Vadim Sidur Museum, Approximate Time of Waiting, solo exhibition of Julia Kosulnikova, Moscow, 2019.

Borey Gallery, Man-Amphibian Submarine, solo show by Yury Kozlov, St.Petersburg, 2019

Artists and studios on the periphery of social life have no opportunity to exhibit and be seen - our project exists to correct this. 

shirotadolgota@gmail.com / shirotadolgota.com