The Informals / Неформалы

The Informals / Неформалы is partly an autobiographical work, partly a universal statement on the notions of decentralisation, collectivism, and non-conformist ways of living in the digital age. Polina Medvedeva and Andreas Kühne research improvisational techniques in the medium of documentary. Their methodology resembles the patterns of the ‘digital natives’ of Murmansk. In order to escape the norms and social constructs of the North of Russia, young people in Murmansk gravitate to deserted spaces in their area, where they collectively improvise with space, adding a new layer to its genealogy. Medvedeva and Kühne traveled back to the former military zone where Medvedeva was born and through documentation and field improvisation – much like the youths of the Murmansk region – temporarily transferred it into the present. The data they have collected is divided into elements and prepared for live triggering and processing. It resembles an audiovisual instrument which, when played by the artist duo, produces new unscripted versions with each live performance.

The piece has been commissioned by Sonic Acts and Inversia Festival, Murmansk as part of Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.