MODALITY OF VISIBLE
Moscow Museum of Modern Art
Moscow
Curator: Alisa Nikolaeva

In the works presented at the exhibition, Shamil Shaaev addresses the phenomenon of the gaze from the perspective of the history and mythology of antiquity. Antiquity believes that the eye clarifies the visible: a direct gaze is capable of transmitting embrace, power, aggression, desire, while a refusal to gaze or averting one's eyes signifies acceptance, humility, submission. The exhibition's title refers to a quote from James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," in which the author also turns to antiquity, namely Homer's epic "The Odyssey."

The exhibition "The Ineluctable Modality of the Visible" is an exploration of sensuality taken to its extreme by two emotions: fear and pleasure. In his works, Shaaev conveys three phenomena that are visually similar: sleep, death, and pleasure. The images of death, oblivion, and sexual attraction are found to be dependent on the act of "looking," which only blurs the boundaries between them.

The exhibition features paintings on canvases and icon boards, graphics, objects with elements of ceramics and textiles. The series "Long Dreams," dedicated to the destroyed city of Pompeii, depicts androgynous heroes who are either in ecstasy, sleep, or death. In the series "Your Hands Are Too Sticky," Shaaev portrays fig leaves, which are traditionally used to cover the nudity of biblical and ancient heroes, and the hands of church sculptures. On one hand, the hands are canonically associated with prayer rituals, and on the other hand, they serve to shield from the gaze of others.