NEO MOSAIC
Neo-mosaic is a project that unites the recycling industry and monumental art. A team of artists led by Vera Chekunova creates mosaics and stained glass windows from recycled plastic using their own technology, revealing the potential of this material in the context of the modern visual environment.
The project currently pays much attention to working with ethnographic material and rethinking traditional elements of architecture and ornament.
«Ploughshare» recycled plastic (PP, HDPE);
«…Байки-побайки Матери — китайки, Отцу — сапожки, Сёстрам ленточки-позументочки, А Анюточке платок — во всю головушку цветок…» - фрагмент традиционной колыбельной
As a basis for the plastic solution, we took an ornament often found in the traditional festive costume of the Kostroma region. We did not turn to archaic images of peasant embroidery, but took for rethinking a much more modern and not originally Russian ornament from the so-called «kitayaka» — silk fabric originally brought from China. The production of «Russian» knitayaka was subsequently concentrated in the Kostroma region, which became an integral visual component of the northern costume. We reflected on the role and power of cultural interactions, the desire for beauty and the paradoxical point at which form begins to prevail over content.
An element of the ornament, torn from an organic visual context, is brought to a grotesque image: enlarged details with uncharacteristic color spots act as symbols that have lost their original meaning, but at the same time acquire new meanings in the constructed environment.
We set ourselves the task of transferring this archetypal silhouette to a completely new material and looked for a semblance of a complex wood structure in the texture of plastic sheets. This was not an imitation or an imitation: it was important for us not to lose the features and character of the material.
We reflect on the value of preserving and rethinking heritage as opposed to simplifying architectural forms.
«Ploughshare» recycled plastic (PP, HDPE);
The main graphic element used in this work is the ploughshare — a roofing detail (a board with a stepped end) used to cover domes in Russian wooden architecture.
We set ourselves the task of transferring this archetypal silhouette to a completely new material and looked for a semblance of a complex wood structure in the texture of plastic sheets. This was not an imitation or an imitation: it was important for us not to lose the features and character of the material.
We reflect on the value of preserving and rethinking heritage as opposed to simplifying architectural forms.
Rhythmically arranged details, associatively reminiscent of the tightly folded domes of northern churches, are not fastened together and are subject to any movement of the surrounding space, be it the wind or a person’s touch. This symbolizes the loss of supports in the previously unshakable.
Vera Chekunova «Untitled», stained glass, 2021 Recycled HDPE, PP
The plastic solution is based on a stained glass ornament from the Old Believer Pokrovo-Uspenskaya Church. Elements of Russian Art Nouveau find their interpretation in a new material — recycled plastic.
Neo-mosaic continues to explore recycled plastic as a full-fledged original material for monumental art. The main idea of the project remains creation at every stage: from careful interaction with artistic heritage to careful work with secondary material created in our workshop from collected disposable plastic.
