This visual exploration serves as an addition to the exhibition, «Without Us,» which is being shown at the Les Abattoirs museum in Toulouse, located in the building of a former municipal slaughterhouse. At the core of the project is the practice of Vladimir Chernyshov, a Russian artist who works with the theme of a «world without us"—a world where humans are gone, but their traces remain. This research was undertaken to fully contextualize this practice. Through four stages—from an abandoned village to the theme of water—we will trace how the artist transforms place, material, and space into a statement about disappearance and time.
Visual Research Structure
Introduction. Artist
Landscape
Studio Materials
Space
The Theme of Water
Conclusion
Bibliography and Image List
Introduction. Artist
Vladimir Chernyshov was born in 1992 in Nizhny Novgorod and still lives and works there. He began his work in abandoned villages and has since focused on what remains of human presence. Today, he alternates between studio practice and land art, works with the «Tikhaya» studio, and is represented by Artwin Gallery. In 2021, he reached the final of the Kandinsky Prize in the category «Young Artist. Project of the Year.»
Vladimir Chernyshov, «Quiet» Studio
His practice can be read as a four-step progression: landscape, studio materials, space, and water. Each subsequent section evolves from the one before it.
Landscape
Chernyshov’s first topic was the disappearing cultural landscape. The «Abandoned Village» project ran from 2013 to 2018: for about three years, the artist studied how traditional rural culture is fading and visited more than ten regions of Russia. In 2015, the project was shortlisted for the Kuryokhin Prize.
«Abandoned Village» Project, Rural Practices 2013–20
He calls his method an «intervention”—that is, an interference within the context. At night, torches were lit at home, seeming to dissolve into the darkness, and the tar that coated them became a symbol of an industrialization erasing the landscape.
