Explaining the title of his solo show, Alexander Samodurov refers to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his concept of the ‘veil of Maya’ denoting the illusory nature of our existence. The ultimate illusion here is likened to a protective veil that, during a person’s lifetime, conceals his or her oneness with the entire world and presence in all being. It is in death, however, that the truth is revealed.

The artist confronts the viewer with a series of questions: what is the human place in the spacetime of the outside world with its delusiveness and pretence? What is real and what is deceptive? What lies beyond human awareness?

Alexander Samodurov’s meditative creative practice is directly linked to the world of illusion. The artist dissects, burns through, and regenerates the flesh of the self-adhesive vinyl sheets – the advertisers’ medium of choice. Posters, signboards, and advertising imagery all form a kind of superstructure over reality, through which we sometimes catch glimpses of archaic myths. Samodurov takes on the role of the conjurer of these texts, hand-crafting visuals that resemble digital glitches, representing the conflict between a concept and its computer-based realisation. After all, the notion of Maya encapsulates something of a divine power, a special energy capable of spawning images. And, ultimately, this is beautiful!