The installation “Clay Anchors” is part of the project “The Skin of the Earth” — the main project of the world’s first Biennale of Ecological Art.
The installation “Clay Anchors” is presented at the exhibition in the historic Yermolaev Hotel building, constructed in 1896, in Nizhny Novgorod.
The exhibition runs from May 30 to October 1, 2025.
Main Project: “The Skin of the Earth”
Exhibits of the project “The Skin of the Earth”
The Earth’s surface is a thin fertile layer on the planet that provides living space and nourishment for billions of living beings, including humans — inseparably connected to ecological, biological, geological, and chemical systems in which they are embedded through evolutionary selection and the influence of the environment. However, alongside these natural factors affecting the planet’s health, the activities of humankind have come to the forefront.
Over the past 200–300 years, human economic activity, driven by industrial development, has altered the geological composition of the planet so profoundly that a special scientific term — the Anthropocene — has been introduced. It describes humanity’s impact on the environment, which has radically changed the present condition of soils and their geological, hydrological, and ecological structures.
The very economic practices on which humanity relied for survival and relatively comfortable existence have revealed their destructive nature. Deforestation, plastic pollution, resource extraction, polluting industries, waste landfills, toxic emissions, exhaust gases, and more — all of this reshapes the face of our planet. It has become evident that humanity must reconsider its relationship with the environment.
In my work, the anchors and chains that appear to be made of steel are, in fact, fragile. They are crafted from clay — from earth itself. Brittle, unable to hold steel ships at bay. The capitalist drive for profit undermines programs of rational and sustainable resource use.
Clay Anchors are a metaphor for the vulnerability of the world. What once seemed unshakable, stable, and reliable now falters under the onslaught of modern human activity. Nature is losing to humankind — but this victory may cost humanity far too much.
Photo: Vera Ershova