Cactus Seller
2009
Photography, 33 x (51 x 36 x 8 cm).
Materials: 33 lightboxes, mixed media
Collection: Courtesy of DIEHL Gallery, Berlin.
Olga Chernysheva has always adapted her means of expression to the motif or topic she chooses to focus on. The darkly suggestive photographs in the series Cactus Seller (2009), which documents the dreamlike reality of Moscow Zoo Museum are shown as 33 lightboxes. This series is very narrative. Step by step Chernysheva takes you on a journey through the museum. The first acquaintance happens at the desk, with the female counter staff. Next up is the cactus seller, promoting his plants to the visitors. Each photo has its own story, but also completes a much larger image. These are the voids and absences in Chernysheva’s photographs that determine the overall atmosphere.
