With the project ‘Unreal Estate’, Ksenia Galiaeva explores the way in which memories can be influenced and guided. For over fifteen years, she has been taking photos of her parents, usually in the paradisiacal surroundings of their Russian summerhouse. Although her work is not staged, she chooses to portray certain moments, allowing room for interpretation and giving her the opportunity to distance herself from the moment. Her parents are transformed into fictional characters onto whom Ksenia Galiaeva can project her own ideas and stories. She describes her work as autobiographical fiction, a way of creating her own life story.
At BRADWOLFF PROJECTS she presents us with an installation of photographic material, placing her older and newer work in a new order. An accompanying publication and a booklet with essays will provide insight into the associative stories and the creation of personal metaphors. The result is a visual ‘personal essay’, a mix of media and storytelling techniques.
The exhibition ‘Unreal Estate 1’ is the first in a series of exhibitions by Ksenia Galiaeva under this collective name; the ‘Unreal Estate’ project comprises the autonomous ‘summerhouse’ works, along with her autobiographical fiction and a publication.
Ksenia Galiaeva [1976, Pskov, RU] studied at the School of Fine Art and Design in Den Bosch [NL] and at the Post St. Joost in Breda [NL]. She exhibits regularly, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and is represented by Ellen de Bruijne Projects in Amsterdam. Galiaeva is a tutor at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. She lives and works in Amsterdam and Antwerp.
Alex de Vries, former principal [1997-2001] of the School of Fine Arts and Design Den Bosch, is an independent author and curator. In 1979, he founded the magazine Metropolis M together with Arjen Kok and Rob Smolders. De Vries fulfils multiple advisory functions and is the co-owner of Stern / Den Hartog & DeVries, a communications and publishing company in the arts and culture sector.