Project "The Skin of the Artist"

The installation included a shamanic ethnographic section featuring items of clothing and subtle self-expression body art, hidden behind screens with different-height windows for a fragmented view.

The exhibition had a well-structured layout: 1. Two screen fragments with body art objects framed the entrance and led into the space.

2. Exhibits around the perimeter served as a border or context to the central event. They were displayed here from left to right, starting with: - Two paintings on the left wall, accompanied by the text from Munchausen's "The Wolf Inside Out" sent from New York by Almaty resident Mikhail Dontsov; and

- A black woman's mannequin covered in white glue and with fingerprints. Two enlarged photographic portraits from 1942 by Sergei Kalmykov are original works that interpret his appearance in clothes made by him as a "moving art object." With his buffoonish and shamanic appearance, he has excited more than one generation of residents of Almaty. The back wall is a giant target made of the cheeks of cable coils (Tryakin-Bukharov), and there are two televisions displaying video footage of Saule Suleimenova, dancing in shamanic garments, with her back and head shaved and colored paste drawn on her palms. Her clothes are cut out according to Kalmyk traditions: a body drawn on a cloth using charcoal, tracing the contours of a figure standing in front of the target, and seams are marked on the bare body using black paint applied to a finger. The right wall of the exhibition contains a tambourine, a wand, a rosary, a bundle of wool, an amulet, a chebyk (a mirror fragment), a shaman's hat, made from "swan skin" and white feathers. There is also a shelf with flasks containing multi-colored paints, a bow and a quiver, a jacket, and a hat (tools for the upcoming performance "The Last Point"). In addition, there is a block of photos of various necklines, beards, and hats.

In the middle of the exhibition hall, there are two store-bought metal hangers, on which hang 34 objects, made of different materials and designs, presented by the project's participants as metaphors for "the artist's skin". These objects can be removed for consideration and "tried on" to find the most suitable image for an outfit. Among these objects are works by Halfin: "Pulota. Finger Painting," "Bullet In A Case," "Two Skins," Tactility, and "The Skin of the Artist-1" According to Khalfin's manifesto, the concept behind the project is related to: 1. The concept of "nomad" is associated with increased mobility and the ability to overcome physical and cultural barriers.

2. The advent of a new painting metaphor extends a number of previous ones, such as the window to the world and the mirror. 3. The idea of a change in how we speak, like a snake shedding its skin and still being the same. 4. With the thesis of the conditional nature of statements about the world, due to the peculiarities of the psychophysical nature of humans in general and artists in particular.

The installation "The Skin of the Artist" is a complex and multilevel space, whose melody lies between serious fun and playful nature. Despite Halfin's statement that "The Skin of the Artist" refers to the bodies of artists, none of the participants used their own bodies to communicate. Therefore, "The Skin of the Artist" remained in the realm of art, with its focus on detachment from everyday life. However, it used the principle of separation to the fullest extent in order to provoke a strong response from viewers. On March 19th, in these very walls, yet in a significantly different space (with the hangers moved to the wall and the target placed in the corner), the performance "The Last Point" was held. Saule Sulyemanova and Almagul Menibayeva danced cheerfully, portraying the spirit of a Shaman; Yulia Sorokina and Natalia Melekhina created a new "The Skin of the Artist", which when displayed on the stage, turned out bright and beautiful like a patchwork blanket. Rustam Khalfin released an arrow from a bow, the tip of which was dipped in paint, towards seven objects that Alexey Zolotukhine had placed on the target. After the "Last Stroke of the Master," the arrow was hung on the wall as a freshly created work of art. These actions were accompanied by music written by Bakhtiyar Amanjolov, specially for the occasion.

Installation: metal hangers, a wooden target board, two televisions, a video recorder, images, photographs, objects, screens, a mannequin, a bow and arrows, paint containers, a palette, and performance tools. Project participants included Elvira Garnysheva, Mikhail Dontsov (from New York), Alexey Zolotuhin, Vladimir Ignatov, Natalia Melekhina, Almagul Menlibayeva, Katrin Slask (from Krakow), Yulia Sorokina, Saule Suleimenova, and Georgi Tryakin-Bukarov.