In July this year, I collaborated with Upscale Galerie on my solo (miniature) exhibition 'Kvartirka'. This project visualises my childhood in Eastern Europe. Based on my memories and the family photo archive, I recreated my grandparents' flat.
I spent the first four years of my life with grandparents in a typical Soviet-era Khrushchevka (five-storey apartment flat). Such a 1960s flat was an early attempt at industrialised and prefabricated construction, with panels made in concrete factories and transported to the building site.
A Kvartira (flat) within a Khrushchevka had a total area of 44 m2. Due to prefabricated construction, all Kvartiras (flats) looked exactly the same inside. As a result, when you visited your neighbours, you always knew where their kitchen, bathroom and bedroom were.
I've wanted to create some sort of project in miniature for a long time and I wrote to Ellis Veth about it. Ellis has her own miniature gallery with several rooms (1:10 and 1:8). Visiting artists create miniature exhibitions at Ellis' Upscale Galerie.
We made a plan for the creation and I began my work. I tried to make an environment as similar to reality as possible, analysed old photographs and searched for suitable materials. It was also a good opportunity to call all the family members and remember the details of the old family place.
It took a month to complete the miniature of the flat, we prepared a presentation of the project in our social media and on the gallery's website. You could also see the miniature live in Rotterdam and even buy some details as a souvenir!
