7 deaths in Moscow


2003
video installation, sound

The project was originally created for the 2003 Sao Paulo Biennale, whose topic was "Life in a megalopolis" The work juxtaposes mundane and familiar views of Moscow with dreadful events that have happened, or could have happened, in these very same places. There are seven monitors; on each one plays a short video clip which depicts a certain location or scene. In the background there are sounds that suggest death, even through the accident or murder they evoke are not actually depicted. Frightening sounds of fighting, screeching of breaks, burst of gunfire, etc. change the perception of the accompanying image, so that a disjuncture develops between the footage and its soundtrack. The videos are shown one by one - some monitors turn on while others go off.

Where are seven scenarios in this work, each of which deals with a different case study of urban violence or crime.

There are 300 homeless people who freeze to death every winter. Several businessmen were killed by contract killers in front of the "Dolls" bar. Every year 30000 people die in traffic accidents. Every fifth prostitute in Moscow has been raped. There were several bombs in apartment block during the terrorism in Moscow in1999 - the total number of victims reached 223 people. There are currently about 150 young extremist gangs active in Moscow; the number of street and domestic murders is rising constantly.

In 1993 during the storming of the White House in Moscow, about 1500 people were killed