“Revival” by Russian artist Katerina Belkina is a series of allegories on the theme of neo-renaissance. A distinctive feature of the Renaissance – the secular nature of culture and its anthropocentrism, an escape from the influence of the Church to the exploration of identity and the living material world – was Katerina’s source of inspiration.
“On the one hand, humanity is now losing the power of faith in the Divine – the world has become absurdly material. On the other hand, spiritually deprived life of modern men leads everyone to instinctive behavior. Human instincts drive us to pass life on to future generations.”
Katerina believes that “the material growth is impossible without spiritual. Our faith in higher forces and predestination is such a vital need of our psyche that people look for its new incarnations or try to transform the existing ones. And since these searches occur from time to time in our history, this cyclicity takes us to each new level.”
Along with the Renaissance theme, “Revival” explores and is influenced by pop culture. Mass culture. “Revival” is the same renaissance, but in a new light. It is an escape from consumerism and materialism, imposed by the society.
“It is an exploration of oneself as an element of a coherent mechanism of the Universe. Neo-renaissance in everyday life. Finding faith in a new context. In the past, faith helped people to survive. Today, its task is to raise humanity to a new level.”
Born in Samara in the southeast of European Russia, Katerina Belkina was brought up in an creative atmosphere by her mother, a visual artist. Her education as painter at the Art Academy and at the Academy for Photography of Michael Musorin in Samara gave her the tools to visualize her ideas. Exhibitions of her sublime, mystic self-portraits ensued in Moscow and Paris.
Images courtesy of Katerina Belkina
Discover: www.belkina.ru
