Alexey Martins (b. 1989, Krasnoyarsk in 1989) is a visual artist based in Moscow. In his practice, Martins works with various media, revealing the dynamic tension between civilisation and nature. His body of work amalgamates into a single social and aesthetic project—meditation on environmental cataclysms, the ambivalent status of a human being in the system of organic life, regional identity, and the unifying potential of art.
Recommended by Oksana Budulak
Being Together, 2017. Archstoyanie festival. A hundred of timber animals were offered to the visitors as a sacrifice Photo: Julia Abzaltdinova
Being Together, 2017. Archstoyanie festival. Viewers set this “firewood” aflame at the same time, turning it into a powerful source of physical heat. Photo: Julia Abzaltdinova
Mental Firewood, 2015-2017. This series was inspired by Martins’ research of Siberian identity and mental geography. Wood sculptures were reminiscent of zoomorphic totems of the indigenous people of Siberia
Black Forest. From Black Forest and Black Sky, 2018. The pitch-black installation conjures fantastical associations, at the same time reminding one of burnt forests in Siberia
Black Sky. From Black Forest and Black Sky, 2018. Structurally identical to Black Forest, this installation horizontally mirrors its counterpart. The title refers to a local Siberian term “black sky mode” describing environmental issues the region faces
Garden Must Grow, 2016. In this project, gallery space was turned into the Garden—a fragile ecosystem populated by flora and fauna
Garden Must Grow, 2016. Generally interested in the phenomenon of natural heat, Martins created sculptures of polymer building insulation used for reduction of heat transfer, also drawing attention to environmental issues
Sunspots, 2020. This project was based on the mythical confrontation between the chthonic and the solar in German-Scandinavian and Evenki legends, with eschatological being interpreted through the prism of the modern environmental and political agenda
