Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre 
Photo © Oleksandr Osipov, courtesy of the YermilovCentre
The Nook
fabric, pencil / 2023
Courtesy of
In her artistic practice, Anna Zvyagintseva often refers to the barely noticeable, intangible aspects of our lives, elusive moments, useless actions, and small gestures. Drawing on personal stories rooted in the country's political realities, the artist primarily offers a sensual experience, reveals human vulnerability, and captures the elusive.
In The Nook, Zvyagintseva creates an object based on schematic children's drawings of houses with windows, eyes, and doors, mouths, recreating a familiar and reliable image of a home. The two-dimensional plane of the fabric is transformed into a three-dimensional object that serves as a shelter for the dress inside.
The dress in this work plays the role of an amulet - you can hide in it, wrap yourself in it, and be buried in it, which gives it the function of a cerecloth or shroud. The dress shows a grass drawing, and the house shows drawings from the artist's diary, which she began writing at the outbreak of the full-scale invasion.
The work conveys an inner desire and urgent need for secure protection, even if it is illusory. The cape house represents comfort and protection, reminding us of the tragic reality of war. However, thanks to the grass pattern on the dress, the work opens a window into the future, radiating hope rather than sadness.