U-Space — total installations, Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art

U-Space is a total installation that immerses you into a particular world, aimed at experiencing particular feelings and emotions. Within a fifteen minutes session, the visitor experiences a different life, unique and personal depending on the specifics of his individual perception.

Each total installation has its own theme, predetermining the spectrum of feelings, emotions and thoughts, emerging inside the U-Space that the viewer then transforms into his own personal experiences.

Erarta Museum showcases unique projects which can only be seen within its walls. U-Space is a total installation that immerses you into a particular world, aimed at experiencing particular feelings and emotions. Within a fifteen minutes session, the visitor experiences a different life, unique and personal depending on the specifics of his individual perception. Each total installation has its own theme, predetermining the spectrum of feelings, emotions and thoughts, emerging inside the U-Space that the viewer then transforms into his own personal experiences.

Floor 1

“My House — My Fortress?”
“Do what you can and then whatever happens, happens”. This well-known saying seems to have a universal meaning and yet it is perceived differently on an individual level — what is “doing”, what can one do? The main question is whether you make the wall protecting you from environment — or become an organic part of the wider world. What is the guarantee of your safety — strong walls or a strong understanding of the situation around you? The authors of the project induce you to open your eyes to the reality of the big wider world, even if the comfort of your personal little space clashes with it.

“Childhood”
If you, having read “Goldilocks and the three bears” in your childhood, saw it as a fun adventure rather than a thriller with a potentially fatal ending, then you will love our child’s room where you have a unique chance to get into someone’s skin, re-visit child’s magical world and feel yourself at the very beginning again.

Floor 2

“Origins”
The majority of us lost the tradition of pilgrimage to holy places but, much like centuries ago, fr om time to time we must distance ourselves fr om the daily routine and ask ourselves who we are and wh ere we’re going. With time, the need for actual physical contact with one’s past grows and we return to the family’s homes and parents’ graves. It ‘ s there that we become our true selves again, drawing strength from our community with humankind, like the “bogatyr” warriors from Russian fables who would fall wounded to the ground, be nourished by mother earth’s juices and rise to fight again. Each one of us absolutely needs to know that there’s a place on earth wh ere one can come, strip oneself of all alien and unnecessary and say to the high skies —“it’s me, o Lord!”.

“What’s Left When Everything’s Gone”
We’ve all experienced the feeling of loss. It’s not necessarily connected to the physical loss of those close to us — it’s sometimes caused by the inexorable transition of every particular moment from the category of “present” to the category of “past”. What do we all really have? The past is gone, the future isn’t here yet and it looks like all that we have is a thin thread of memories and presentiments spliced together with instants of present sliding along. You can tie your necklace but you also can lose all beads — hold on to yours tight as life is so fragile and flies by so quickly!

Floor 4

“Loading”
Is our life a blank sheet on which everyone writes their own story, or have we been programmed with standard features, akin to a machine? Which is the correct choice — to accept what life has in store for us and stay within its circular boundaries, or to break out from the trapping cycle? And do we really even have that choice in the first place? How does one stay sane within the confines and what lies beyond if we break free?

“Cherry Orchard”
In March, all of Japan marvels at cherry blossoms. There’s something mystical in a huge cloud of tender petals which covers the earth every spring and turns daily routine into a fairytale. Legend has it, many years ago a poor old pauper who lived at the foot of mount Fuji, wanted to leave a mark in people’s memories before he died but he didn’t have anything, and he then decided to plant a thousand seedlings of cherry trees in the mountains. It was extremely tough — cold weather and droughts destroyed young plants but the old man did not give up and kept planting and looking after the trees. One glorious spring they all simultaneously broke into blossom and people were amazed by this beauty. The old man didn’t see that spring but people, who did, were immersing in the soft pink cloud and coming to the belief that there is no death, and spring will last forever, and life is wonderful, and happiness will arrive, and all their dreams will come true.

Floor 5

“Cloud Nine”
The Internet will shortly disappear as a concept because information will soon be totally integrated into human organism via means of various gadgets. Chips, sensors, lenses and other tech augmentations will become part of human body and the brain will be able to immediately load and required information and have total awareness of the surrounding environment.

Will emotions, romance and dreams die out as a result? One hopes that won’t be the case because there will always be artists able to bring beauty and aesthetics even to a virtual space, furthermore, benefitting from such progress with heightened levels of ability. Then, the most ambitious dreams will come true — for instance, everyone will be able to reach Cloud Nine and feel truly happy.

“Infinity”
“Infinity”to feel our belonging to the eternal and boundless possibilities

This U-space is designed by Dmitry Petukhov, using a work by Alexandr Fedorov “Duckweed”.

The infinite external is seen in our belonging to the universe — the all-encompassing, never-vanishing energy field, an unbroken chain of generations. Our belonging to the eternal will never let us disappear without a trace. We will ultimately reach our descendants much like the light from the stars that have faded long ago eventually reaches us.

The infinite internal is revealed in our boundless possibilities. While we are alive, there are no limits to our mind and imagination, to our love, hope and faith. While we exist, death does not and when it arrives, death is merely the first step on an unknown, truly infinite path.

By uniting these two infinities, man becomes equal to the universe.

Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art
Erarta is the biggest global project in Russian contemporary art, a must-see institution for gaining insight into modern Russia. At the heart of Erarta lies a totally unique approach to both the art and the viewer, a desire to build a new relationship system between people and art. The museum’s absolute focus and priority are concentrated on the most important person at Erarta – the visitor. All of Erarta’s activities are aimed at growing the number of people who appreciate and love contemporary art because at the core of the institution lies a belief that love of art can make any individual’s life more interesting and fulfilling, thus, ultimately, spreading a passion for art makes the world a happier place.

Erarta is Russia’s largest private museum of contemporary art, a must-see place for gaining insight into modern Russia. Its permanent collection featuring over 2,800 works by Russian artists, along with more than 40 exciting temporary exhibitions staged by the museum every year, have firmly established it on the list of things to do in St. Petersburg. Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art was repeatedly mentioned as a top choice tourist attraction by Lonely Planet guidebooks; ranks among the top 10 museums in Russia on TripAdvisor; was spotlighted as one of the ‘5 Cultural Gems’ among places to visit in St. Petersburg by National Geographic, and became the country’s first contemporary art museum to be featured on Google Arts and Culture Project.

In St. Petersburg, one of the wings of its 10,000 sq. m building is dedicated to the permanent exhibit of the collection of Erarta Museum, the largest private museum in Russia, containing 2800 works by more than 300 artists from all over the country. Another two wings are dedicated to temporary exhibitions and change completely every three months, with over 35 shows in total staged each year. There is also a multi-function Erarta Stage performance hall with a maximum occupancy of 800, which every year hosts over 300 various events such as plays, concerts and film screenings as well as lectures and meetings with renowned figures from the worlds of art, fashion and design. Erarta is open every day except for Tuesdays, from 10:00 till 22:00