It all starts at the end!
Thesis Project—the final milestone within the School. It is the last piece of work one must «submit.» But it is at this moment that something spirals out of control: the conclusion ceases to be a mere conclusion. It fragments into exhibitions, performances, concerts, and showings—a desperate impulse to voice oneself, to make a statement, sometimes too loudly, sometimes uncertainly, but never—neutrally.
In this sense, the state of nearing graduation resembles a carnival—in the sense described by Mikhail Bakhtin. This isn’t about revelry or disorder, but about a specific temporal regime where society permits itself to suspend the operation of usual rules. The carnival doesn’t abolish order; rather, it creates its temporary inversion: the jester takes the king’s place, the student takes the teacher’s place, the low takes the high. The carnival is only possible because everyone knows that it will end. It doesn’t destroy the existing order; it merely temporarily brings to the surface what, in normal times, remains voiceless.
The projects presented in the exhibition exist within this void. Furthermore, the carnival state is not limited to the moment of release—it continues in the participants' works. They are united by a discussion of transit forms as modes of existing «in-between.»
The works of Sofia Perova, Ekaterina Sergeeva, and Inga Tatarshao explore the human condition where identity does not solidify into a stable image, making it impossible to fix oneself within a single role, a single culture, or a singular sense of self.
Sofia Perova. Attention, passengers, 2026
Sophia Perova. Attention passengers, 2026
The artistic project examines the airport as a contemporary space of transit—a place where a person exists «between» territories, identities, and the familiar forms of daily life. The central element is the interactive object, «Checkpoint, ” situated at the exhibition entrance, referencing the frame of a metal detector: by passing through it, the viewer becomes immersed in a situation of observing the temporary shift of their own status. In the airport, the individual is perceived not as an individual, but as part of the infrastructure of movement and control.
Katya Sergeeva. Is this really me? 2026
Katya Sergeyeva. Is this definitely me? 2026
Inga Tatarshao. Neither here nor there, 2026
Inga Tatarshao. Neither here nor there, 2026
Inga Tatarshao. Not here, not there, 2026
The artistic project is dedicated to the state of hybrid national-cultural identity—the experience of a person who does not entirely belong to any of the cultures in which they grew up. The starting point is the words of the artist’s father, who noticed a rift in her Abazin speech: the language sounds correct, but different from that of those who grew up within it. Tatarshао makes this assemblage visible: inconsistencies in speech, gesture, and memory become not a flaw, but a form. The home in the project is not a unified space, but a fragmented structure assembled from the language, environment, family histories, and cultures that shape us—cultures that do not align with one another.
Karina Batrachenko, Renata Sharipova, Ulyana Sorokina, Maria Dubodel, and Alexandra Novgorodova transfer this experience from the body to space: their protagonists become places suspended between the past and the future, between history and oblivion.
Karina Batrachenko. There will be grass here tomorrow, 2026
Karina Batrachenko. There will be grass here tomorrow, 2026
Karina Batrachenko. There will be grass here tomorrow, 2026
The artistic project investigates the industrial spaces of the Shakhovskiy district—factories and workshops transforming after human presence departs. The central theme is the state of «post-event»: the moment when the carnival of labor has concluded, the human presence is attenuated, and objects and surfaces begin to exist independently. The painting series captures the transitional states of the industrial landscape. The «Windows» object series shifts this investigation to an intimate scale: LED panels react to the viewer’s actions, allowing them to literally reveal or conceal traces of human presence.
Alexandra Novgorodova. State House, 2026
The curatorial project addresses the history of the Znamenskoye-Rayok estate—an architectural monument from the late 18th century—which once housed a children’s colony and a special school from 1958 to 1975. Today, during its restoration, this history risks being erased from public memory. The «state-run house» is explored as a unique space of transition—a place where the individual is separated from their familiar environment and forced to redefine their sense of home and belonging. The project spanned two sites, configured as a single narrative route; movement between these sites became part of the authorial mediation.
Maria Dubodel. Direct contact, 2026