Following the success of the Hockney and Stark exhibitions at Nottingham Contemporary, expectations for Star City were understandably very high – willing to prove that their previous success was not just a flash in the pan, and determined to bustle into the group of top galleries in the country, an exhibition relating to the Soviet space programme seems like a curious choice. Star City is not an instant crowd pleaser, yet credit must be given to Nottingham Contemporary for not sticking with the safe option, and, as it turns out, putting on a slightly-alienating but well-executed exhibition.
Star City is the name of the secret Soviet space training camp situated 20 miles outside of Moscow, although these days you are more likely to bump into a promising artist than an astronaut. Given that the area was enshrouded in typical Soviet-style secrecy, the sense of wonder surrounding Star City since the end of the Cold War is largely inevitable, and within the exhibition this sense of wonder has been harnessed, creating an atmosphere that oscillates between gentle awe and frightening bewilderment.
It seems that the focus of the exhibition is not purely the art surrounding the Soviet space programme, but moreover the modernist notion of harnessing technology for a better future. Certainly, this perspective is reinforced within the work of Aleksandra Mir’s work The Dream and the Promise, in which Christian imagery undergoes the process of détournement as missiles adorn images of Christ, almost to highlight the similarities within the ideals espoused by socialism and the notion of the afterlife within Christian ideology – both relying heavily upon human belief.
Another highlight of the exhibition is Hernandez’ piece Inspire Me, in which four fairly mundane objects including a radio blaring out a Castro speech in Morse, are placed upon a pile of bricks. Given the Soviet fascination for isolating itself both ideologically and physically, the dejected mass of bricks at the base is perhaps a subtle innuendo to the crumbing communist ideal itself.
Equally fascinating was Julius Koller’s series of photographs based on his self-ostracism from society. Within his work, Koller develops the notion of anti-happenings – the antithesis to the happenings of 1960s America – and attempts to place himself outside the dichotomy of capitalist and socialist ideologies. The results portray a vision of a man who is lost within politics, believing himself not to belong in the system he was born into.
Adorning many of the walls within the galleries are various posters relating to the space programme, all with propagandist overtones. The Cyrillic script adds to the feeling of alienation within the exhibition – the information is present but indiscernible, creating a sense of unease. The homogenous faces in every image – from the bold Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, to the decorated Soviet rulers – merely add to the feelings of awe and fear in the awesome power of the USSR to manipulate minds as they saw fit.
Nottingham Contemporary has truly shown its potential to become a great venue for art with this successful exhibition. It is a million miles away from the ease of Hockney and the curiosity of Stark, however, the tried and tested formula of ‘pictures on walls’ is being tested, and in doing so, horizons are being expanded.
Star City runs at Nottingham Contemporary until 18 April.
Alexander Britton
Photos: Stefan Ebelewicz
Tags: nottingham contemporary, star city
Very nice!