Sinaida Michalskaja
Multipass, 2023–ongoing
The Multipass body of work is anchored in the Russian idiom "to step on the same rake – a cycle of repetitive, self-inflicted failure.
The body of work materially counteracts this metaphor by pairing the rake – a tool of agricultural labor and mechanical repetition – with healing
crystals corresponding to the seven chakras.
This critical assemblage converts a symbol of futility into a mechanism for spiritual alignment, confronting cycles of cultural and political repetition.
Multipass (Spread your wings and fly) is composed of an old garden rake covered in butterfly tattoos
and balanced on top of a small metal cage and secured with a clip. Inside the cage is a rose made of fabric,
dyed in black, red and gold, along with a key with butterfly wings and a Goethe-shaped eraser.
The cage sits atop a pink salt lick of the kind usually given to horses. Crystals and jewellery are also integrated
into the sculpture; they echo the nine Navagrahas, the planets or deities of Hindu mythology that are believed
to balance energies and promote health, prosperity, and protection. Here, the rake's metaphor of eternal
repetition is brought into direct dialogue with German cultural symbols of enlightenment and national aspiration,
interrogating the cyclical nature of idealism and failure across cultural systems. The work references the Russian idiom
“to step on the same rake”, which evokes the vicious cycle of eternal repetition.
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