UA-178267240-1
︎
2023
Berlin

Бабы Новых Нарожают (Women Will Give Birth To New Ones)


cotton threads on a soviet military jacket, gold, human teeth
76 x 57.5 cm
cotton threads on a soviet military jacket
70 x 56.5 cm
half-glazed clay, milk, sand, metal
38 x 34 cm


Across generations, minorities under the Russian Empire endured numerous and varied acts of violence, including the Russo-Japanese War, Pogroms, Holodomor, the Great Terror, the Second World War, the Chernobyl Disaster, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.
Affek’s work aims to depict the poignant moment when the post-imperial, wounded body began to fetishize the coloniser, instinctively seeking solace in the familiar, subjective corset of social constraints. The installation establishes a connection between the submissive behaviours of the post-Soviet masses—who sacrifice their own sons, natural resources, native languages—and ancient practices of sacrificial offerings. It incorporates three pieces that convey both a personal narrative and a collective story.


01. Бабы новых нарожают
(Women Will Give Birth To New Ones)
This phrase, embroidered on a Soviet military jacket formerly owned by Affek's uncle, Alexander, is experiencing a Renaissance in present-day Russia. Frequently attributed to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, this statement symbolises the dismissive attitude of leadership towards the populace, one that is considered simply as a replaceable resource. On the front of the jacket, gold teeth supplant medals. Once a place for distinctions of valour, these become a grim reminder of the morbid practice of gold tooth extraction from deceased prisoners in Stalin’s Gulag camps. Furthermore, it reflects the ongoing exploitation of Siberia’s natural resources in both material and human form, underscoring again a blatant disregard for the land and its peoples.
02. Пошёл покурить, вернулся, а там яма
(I went to smoke, came back, there was a hole)
A memory of Affek's grandfather, Nikolay, who was sent to fight with the Red Army against Nazi Germany when he was 17, embroidered on his military jacket.
03. Sucking their mother tongue from my mother’s breast
A milk fountain made of clay, forever nourishing, forever feeding.
2023
Berlin

Бабы Новых Нарожают (Women Will Give Birth To New Ones)


cotton threads on a soviet military jacket, gold, human teeth
76 x 57.5 cm
cotton threads on a soviet military jacket
70 x 56.5 cm
half-glazed clay, milk, sand, metal
38 x 34 cm


Across generations, minorities under the Russian Empire endured numerous and varied acts of violence, including the Russo-Japanese War, Pogroms, Holodomor, the Great Terror, the Second World War, the Chernobyl Disaster, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.
Affek’s work aims to depict the poignant moment when the post-imperial, wounded body began to fetishize the coloniser, instinctively seeking solace in the familiar, subjective corset of social constraints. The installation establishes a connection between the submissive behaviours of the post-Soviet masses—who sacrifice their own sons, natural resources, native languages—and ancient practices of sacrificial offerings. It incorporates three pieces that convey both a personal narrative and a collective story.


01. Бабы новых нарожают
(Women Will Give Birth To New Ones)
This phrase, embroidered on a Soviet military jacket formerly owned by Affek's uncle, Alexander, is experiencing a Renaissance in present-day Russia. Frequently attributed to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, this statement symbolises the dismissive attitude of leadership towards the populace, one that is considered simply as a replaceable resource. On the front of the jacket, gold teeth supplant medals. Once a place for distinctions of valour, these become a grim reminder of the morbid practice of gold tooth extraction from deceased prisoners in Stalin’s Gulag camps. Furthermore, it reflects the ongoing exploitation of Siberia’s natural resources in both material and human form, underscoring again a blatant disregard for the land and its peoples.
02. Пошёл покурить, вернулся, а там яма
(I went to smoke, came back, there was a hole)
A memory of Affek's grandfather, Nikolay, who was sent to fight with the Red Army against Nazi Germany when he was 17, embroidered on his military jacket.
03. Sucking their mother tongue from my mother’s breast
A milk fountain made of clay, forever nourishing, forever feeding.