So what's it like in Russia and Eastern Europe these days? As far as we could tell at the private view of Photo I, Photo You at Calvert22, it's especially bleak and gritty but also beguiling and incredibly photogenic.
The first show of 2010 for this not-for-profit foundation dedicated to promoting art from Russia and Central and Eastern Europe (who's Past Future Perfect show we adored), Photo I, Photo You presents works by leading Russian and Eastern European artists. Most of what's on view is photography, with curator Iara Boubnova using the exhibition to consider how the contemporary artist-photographer of Eastern Europe navigates between one's own art, the “clear language of visual propaganda” and the “overwhelming interface” of today‘s neo-capitalist cities. It's tough stuff to contemplate to be sure, nonetheless worthwhile. Among the highlights are celebrated Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov's randomly overlapped imagery and Albanian artist Anri Sala's squawking and symmetrical super 16 film, Long Sorrow.
Photo I, Photo You runs from Thursday the 28th of January until Sunday the 28th of March. Calvert22 is located at 22 Calvert Avenue (E2 7JP). Visit www.calvert22.org for more information.
