VERA KONYASHOVA
Session
The audio-visual installation Message is an abstract sequence of textual transformations and manipulations, using an algorithm based on gematria.
The creation process consists of three parts. The foundation is based on Jewish names used by residents of the land of Israel in different time periods. I explore the connection between events that took place in the region, and names, asking: how did given names change over different time periods?
The names are composed of letters from the Hebrew alphabet, which hold special power and serve as channels through which Jews receive spiritual energy.
In the Jewish tradition, gematria is a method of assigning numerical values to letters and thenanalyzing the meaning of words and phrases based on these values. Using gematria, names can create codes which are then transformed into graphic representations, using graphic and creative coding tools.
When a name is said aloud, it creates a distortion in space, an impulse.
The more a word or name is repeated, the more it loses its meaning.
And the more names are recited, the harder it becomes to distinguish your own from the others.
Through gematria and graphic codes, meaning flows from numbers and symbols into abstract form, dissolving into sounds. What codes do names carry and have we managed to preserve the messages our ancestors embedded, or is it time to create new meanings?
Vera
Konyashova
Selected texts and analysis in the Art Lab program made me feel that I now have a better understanding of the topic, and can speak and create art about it.
Multidisciplinary artist Vera Konyashova was born in Moscow in 1991, and has lived and worked in Tel Aviv since 2015. Vera aims to uncover invisible dimensions, and create layers of complexity. Her video works immerse the viewer in emotional experiences.
Konyashova doesn’t aim to divide what already exists into its components. Rather, through the addition of real spaces, objects, and relationships, she creates an almost tactile, materialized exploration of their internal connections and dynamics. The main theme revolves around emotional states, and the boundaries between reality and imagination. The viewer can experience these emotions and become part of the narrative,
or remain an observer without experiencing them.
