​​​​​​​The exhibition "Covered Scape" by Mitya Kharshak and Yao Lu opened on Vasilyevsky Island

On May 20, a joint exhibition by Mitya Kharshak, Head of HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL in St. Petersburg, and Chinese photographer and professor Yao Lu was officially opened.

The photography exhibition Covered Scape brings together two projects: City in Scaffolds by Mitya Kharshak and New Landscapes by Chinese photographer and professor Yao Lu. Both artists explore the concept of a “new landscape” shaped by human intervention in familiar environments: Yao Lu addresses it on a national scale, while Kharshak focuses on the urban fabric of his native St. Petersburg.

In her curatorial essay, Polina Shishkina, Deputy Head of HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL in St. Petersburg, notes allusions in Kharshak’s work to the visual language of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. She describes his artistic drive as “an exploration of the urban code — the shifting signs and visual symbols that accompany the organic life of a large city during its phases of renewal.” In contrast, Yao Lu’s photographic landscapes evoke the aesthetics of traditional Chinese painting.

“Working within different cultural contexts, both artists engage the viewer in a thoughtful dialogue on the evolving landscapes of the Anthropocene. Wooden scaffolding and technical covering materials are rarely featured in postcard imagery of St. Petersburg or China. Yet through their unexpected stylistic juxtapositions, Covered Scape invites poetic reflection on the temporary, technical, auxiliary, and transient — but no less compelling — components of the modern urban environment. By intentionally shifting the viewer’s focus, the exhibition transforms utilitarian structures into lyrical images”, writes Shishkina.

Mitya Kharshak, Head of HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL – St. Petersburg: “The idea to bring these two photographic projects together came from my colleagues — Natalia Logutova (Institute for Creative Industries Development), who has been actively building partnerships with China, and Polina Shishkina, who curated the exhibition. For both Yao Lu and me, the temporary and ‘functional’ elements of the urban environment move to the foreground in our work, becoming the central subjects.

I’ve participated in many group shows and held several solo exhibitions, but this kind of duet presentation was a new experience for me. Distance and proximity, color and monochrome — in my view, our projects engage in a dialogue and complement each other well. I’d be happy to see the exhibition travel to China and be shown at one of our partner institutions. Covered Scape is both a requiem for the vanishing urban landscape and a tribute to its continual transformation”

The exhibition is on view at 25th Line of Vasilievsky Island, Building 6, Unit 1, 3rd floor, St. Petersburg.