Localisation: Stromovka Park, by the Bagr pond
The sculpture “Anatomy of Landscape” consists of five vertical forms set apart from one another, but forming a single group. The objects stand at regular intervals from one another, about 1 metre apart. They are arranged on the plan of a vertically elongated pentagon. Each form rises directly from the ground and has its own low base. The bases are flat, small and square. They were made by removing the lawn. Each exposed patch of earth is surrounded by a narrow, raised strip of grass.
From these bases, slender, cylindrical masses rise upwards. They are tall and narrow. They have a simple structure and rich ornamentation. They are about [insert] high and about [insert] in diameter. They maintain similar proportions: they are vertical, elongated and compact. None of them is a perfect, geometric cylinder. Their outlines gently undulate, in places narrowing or widening, and the upper ends are flat, but unevenly formed.
The whole composition has a warm, earthy colour. It is a shade of orange-brown and results from the material used. The objects are made of terracotta, clay. The light emphasises the irregularities, and the shadow changes the colour of parts of the sculpture. On the protruding fragments, the colour is lighter, rusty and sandy. In the recesses, it turns into a darker brown. As a result, the uneven surface is clearly visible.
The most important element of the sculpture is its texture. Each pillar is covered with a dense, rough layer of protrusions, folds, recesses and cracks. The surface looks as if it had been hand-modelled from wet clay, and then repeatedly pressed, torn and deformed. There are no smooth, calm planes here. The whole form is porous and strongly sculpted. Deep pits and bowl-shaped hollows of various sizes appear on the surface of the pillars. Some are small, like fingerprints. Others are wide, stretched out and surrounded by thin, ragged edges.
These edges stick out in places. They curl, crack and form ridges or soft, irregular flaps. In places, the material looks as if it had been torn away from the surface and frozen in motion. In other places, it sinks inwards, creating darker, deeper openings. There are also horizontal offsets and fissures on the pillars, similar to places where successive layers of mass are joined.
The sculpture is non-representational. It consists of repeated vertical forms which resemble cross-sections or elongated fragments of earth. Its character is built by the contrast between the simple arrangement of tall pillars and the very complex, organic surface. The background for the object is a pond and the trees growing around it. The pillars seem to depict the moment of landscape formation, but they also serve the function of totems: a point of reference or an orientation point. From a distance, the clay, porous surface may resemble cracked tree bark or exposed layers of earth.