KB17

The multimedia installation KB17 explores ideas of monumentalisation prevalent during the Russian Revolution at the turn of the 20th century, alongside the continuous unruly power of such public structures in contemporary society. Lenin’s ‘Plan for Monumental Propaganda’ detailed an almost obsessive need to saturate Soviet territory with statues of important public figures affiliated with the Bolshevik regime at the time. However, the overall project balanced on a curious ambiguity. Due to a struggling economy - post-revolution and WWI - the majority of these proposed statues were constructed using non-durable materials such as clay, plaster of Paris, and plywood. Thus the monument - an object used to embody timelessness, longevity and future power - was ironically contradicted by a material consequence. The ruinous and ephemeral state of KB17 questions the political intentions of these structures, and whether this amassed collection of broken components embodies a shrine to favoured memory or, antagonistically, renders a new anti-monument to this by-gone era. 

KB17 has been displayed as part of the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design Degree Show (2018), and RSA New Contemporaries (2019). The artist has been awarded the Alastair Smart Memorial Prize for Contemporary Art (2018) and the Sir William Gillies Bequest Award (2019) respectively for each exhibit.

Please contact the artist for enquiries regarding the sale of prints that are part of the KB17 installation, as well as relevant postcards. A range of prints on sale can also be found here.