Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.
Yasumasa Morimura, JP
Yasumasa Morimura, Self-portrait for Hermitage 1991-2014, 2014. Photo © Manifesta 10.
Photographs at General Staff Building
This project was inspired by the Soviet artist Vera Miliutina and Vasily Kuchumov’s drawings of the Hermitage during the siege in the Second World War. Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura photographed the halls using the same angles that Miliutina and Kuchumov had used in their drawings. These photographs united two visual elements: the present-day views of the museum halls and the images depicting their state during the siege. During the biennial Morimura’s photographs were displayed in the same halls.