THE TIME KEEPER RUSSIA

International Multimedia Project
THE TIME KEEPER

Curated by Sofia Kudryavtseva

Supported by CYLAND Media Lab (St. Petersburg), Flemish Ministry of Culture, and the Flemish Community Commission

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Relentless and indifferent, Time is a driving force. It compels humans to seek understanding, to create something greater than themselves, and to define their purpose. The works presented in The Time Keeper are not reactions to fleeting current events; rather, they offer profound reflections on time itself—an ever-relevant contemplation, particularly in moments when history once again demands our attention.

FEATURED WORKS

🔹 Alexandra Dementieva – On the Last Breath
A leading media artist from Belgium, Dementieva presents an interactive installation where the viewer’s breath illuminates a specially designed space. The stronger the breath, the brighter the light, turning a simple biological act into a poetic statement on human influence and existence. Created at CYLAND Media Lab, this work is exhibited for the first time.

🔹 Anna Frants – Shadows
A key figure bridging Russian and American media art, Frants is a co-founder of CYLAND Media Lab and curator of the CYBERFEST festival. Her works have been shown at Transmediale, Cyberfest, Siggraph Asia and are housed in major museums worldwide.
In Shadows, Frants creates an immersive visual and sound environment where visitors become both observers and participants. Abstract concepts of time come to life, prompting viewers to reflect, interpret, and reshape their perception of time itself. This project, developed at CYLAND Media Lab, premieres at the exhibition.

🔹 Arnaud Jacobs – Glaz-Maton
Renowned in Europe for his large-scale sound installation Permafrost, which generates music through the physical process of ice crystallization, Jacobs presents Glaz-Maton at The Time Keeper. This device scans each visitor’s iris and translates the data into a unique musical composition, performed using small, modified music boxes—creating an intimate and personal interaction with time.

🔹 Koen Theys – Fanfares, Peace, and Pleasure
A pioneer of Belgian video art, Theys showcases his celebrated video installation and shares insights into his artistic vision.

🔹 Lea Stuhltrager – Letters on Time
The director of Berlin’s WYI Contemporary Art Center and New York’s Dam Stuhltrager Gallery presents an archive of letters reflecting on the concept of time.