THE TRIUMPH OF THE VICTORS

With each new generation, the memory of majestic events, national exploits, or tragic experiences is reinterpreted over and over again. Before our eyes, a process called post-memory is taking place, which is refracted through the prism of witness narratives or new narratives, interpretations of historical events in cinema, literature, painting and other genres of art. This term describes the relationship with the past that comes from the imaginary of the generation that did not become contemporaries of past events, but perceives it as their own memories.​

Unfortunately, the Russian expert community often gives the concept of post-memory a negative connotation, doing it completely undeservedly, because this process is objective and inevitable. What is surprising, however, is how past and well-documented events are gradually, inevitably, mythologized and stylized before our eyes under the influence of artistic and historical interpretations, the study of memories, testimonies and other sources.

At the same time, each generation creates and experiences a reactualization of memory about the events of the past, in particular, about the war and victory. An example of this process is the series of works by Alexey Belyaev-Gintovt, called "Victory Parade 2937", presented as the final link of the Triumph of the Winners exhibition. It creates a world of the future, in which many things have changed compared to today, but there remains a continuity of rituals and traditions — the foundation for constructing the society of the future. This series is a unique opportunity for Russian contemporary art to artistically explore the phenomenon of the memory of victory and a reminder of its eternity and inviolability. The series is not only an artistic attempt to approach this topic, but also an intention to examine the memory of victory from the adjacent accessible fields of humanitarian knowledge. Presenting memories as a recurring pattern and a visionary component for such a long—term perspective, working with temporality — these elements of creative understanding of the theme of memory allow us to speak about the bold and at the same time responsible course that the artist shows.

The places that have been sacred for many years remained untouched on the canvases of Belyaev-Gintovt — these are the mausoleum, St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin. This is a kind of message to the future and building a world in a thousand years, in which many transformations will take place, and memory will be mythologized and turn into a legend. But the main thing is that the ritual of the parade itself, which manifests victory, despite all the modifications of the future, will remain unchanged and untouchable. The historical and architectural continuity of the central state topos has been preserved through the centuries, while the surrounding city has changed beyond recognition. Giant combat spacecraft-starships -fly over it against the backdrop of futuristic urban landscapes of another Moscow. The city has become full of towering gigantic monuments, majestic Empire-style arches located right behind Red Square, and buildings that amaze the imagination with their inhuman scale.