'Eyecatcher' by Vanya Venmer at DEVYATNADTSAT' gallery, Moscow

Eyecatcher is a kind of showy TV bumper that captures attention for a couple of seconds. But it is also a character: a cat playing with an eyeball, a cartoonish villain, or an elegant swagger who catches everyone's  eye. 

Vanya Venmer’s works are somehow character-like and never indifferent to being observed: they themselves gaze expectantly, look away in confusion, hotly call attention for smth, run and hide. Some assertively establish their presence, while others fail at their attempts to disappear. The tense communication field between objects is at the brink of turning into a theatrical dumbshow.

During a dinner party, you take a glance through a door that has been randomly opened. You find out that all the hosts have been squeezed out to the guests by the void.

There are no skeletons in the closet or trade secrets to conceal in this house and office. The only secret that is kept and left untold is themselves. In avoidance of being discovered, they scrutinizingly stare and greet you with a soft smile.

For what purpose did they open up and reveal perky stories from their teenagehood?

It was necessary to plug all the holes because otherwise they will begin to tighten everything with such force that the whole house could implode.

– Could you tell who or what you are?

– Yes, of course. I’ve been working on the answer for years, and I do it admirably.

But should unsteady disclosedness be preferred to certainty? Wouldn’t that be an even worse trap?

You can only expose the form, only what has any form at all.

It is good that you were looked after. It has been good for you.