Tobias Kaspar
Visual artist
Riga / Zürich
The Cherry Orchard
solo show at MAMCO, Geneva, 2022
Photo: Annik-Wetter
Courtesy: Tobias Kaspar
The installation is based on Chekhov's eponymous play from 1903 and retells it in an imaginary scene. The original play, which centers on the country estate and its beautiful cherry orchard of the impoverished landowner Ranevskaya and her grown-up children, paints a socially critical portrait of the Russian aristocracy at the beginning of the 20th century. Society is undergoing changes. To pay off the family's debts, the cherry orchard has to be auctioned off.
In a quiet reference to Martin Kippenberger's installation The Happy End of Franz Kafka's Amerika (1994), Tobias Kaspar's imaginary scene picks up where Chekhov's original play ends: after a failed building project, the estate and garden are left neglected. Apocalypse. The windows of the unfinished holiday bungalows are left open, a curtain is blowing back and forth. Almost as a counterpoint to the brightly coloured patterns and aesthetically appealing motifs from the online shopping world, an accumulation of scattered scraps of take-away food and their reproduction in bronze can be found on the floor. Despite the Cyrillic lettering, the partially crumpled cardboard boxes and beverage cups are associated with fast food products such as pizza, burgers and the like through globally familiar shapes and logos. The last blossoms of the deforested cherry orchard are scattered between and over the waste products. Like a mantra, a voice4 from the installation can be heard reading text elements from the play, which address the sale of the estate and the cherry orchard.
Disclamer
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Disclamer ◌
The artist staunchly opposes the conflict initiated by Russia against Ukraine in 2014, which stemmed from the annexation of Crimea. This opposition extends to all forms of aggression exhibited by the current Russian administration, whether directed towards other sovereign nations, its own citizens, or aggression in any form.
This statement seeks to underscore the artist's unwavering stance against actions that perpetuate conflict, aggression, and the violation of human rights. The projects celebrate cultural aspects while underscoring the significance of advocating for peace, harmony, and mutual respect on the global stage.
The installation titled "The Cherry Orchard" is inspired by Chekhov's play of the same name and features McDonald's litter collected in St. Petersburg during the spring of 2019.
