WHERE AM I HERE

patchwork, fabric printing

150×240 cm.

2023

The need to preserve connections and identity is inherent in migration, whether internal or external, voluntary or forced. Leaving my hometown for the first time, I experienced the transformative yet painful process of transition.

Seeking refuge in a new, unfamiliar place, I turned to the image of a blanket—a symbol of safety, the boundary between “mine” and “theirs, ” and the feeling of home, wherever I am.

Historically, patchwork quilts were created at pivotal life moments: birth, marriage, or long journeys. They served as powerful talismans, passed down through generations. In my family, nearly every generation migrated across vast distances within the country.

Memory and identity are shaped by countless recollections, visual and emotional imprints, and connections. These form our perception of place and our relationship to it, binding us to space. Like satellite maps stitched from thousands of images, I create a mental map of my internal migrations. While satellite maps are objective and indifferent, patchwork quilts are personal and sacred. By merging these land scapes, I establish a geodesic network as a system of self-identification in space.

The map highlights three key points of my migration: Magadan, where my parents grew up and I was shaped by their stories (I was there only in my mother’s womb); Krasnoyarsk, where I spent my entire life; and Moscow, my current home for an indefinite future.