all that remains
all that remains
all that remains (detail)
all that remains (detail)
Phenomena Project
Social Progress Through Contemporary Art
Dmitry "Dima" Strakovsky

My artistic explorations investigate information packaging and branding structures created by economic, political and social forces in the contemporary global marketplace. The function of those structures extends far beyond the production of physical artifacts. In a space where data is abundant and attention is scarce, they produce reductive systems of signifying relationships optimized for speed: red+fun+young=coca-cola, swoosh+athletes+speed=nike, cheap+quick+abundant=wallmart.

The impact of these systems is not merely confined to the economy; a brand is a cultural entity that reshapes communication fundamentally and globally. I recently came across an article that described choice of a car as "a personal brand statement to the world." Houses, clothes, books, music, and yes, even artworks can all be rolled into a brand and presented as a quick, easily-digestible narrative.

My current approach aims to identify, complicate and "slow down" these narratives in order to open a space for introspection and inquiry. Such space is normally absent in our lives due to the speed demands placed on us by information production and processing. One of the goals of my work is to raise a series of questions: what is it that we loose in the process of information optimization, which narratives do we take for granted, why would we want to doubt them in the first place (remember doubt takes time)? It is a game of posing questions and allowing both the audience members and myself to probe the cultural elements which shape our individual perspectives.

Dmitry "Dima" Strakovsky was born in St.Petersburg, Russia in 1976. He has lived in the United States since 1988. Dima completed his MFA degree at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Art and Technology and stayed in Chicago for several years producing art and working for various companies in the toy invention industry. In 2006 he began his full time academic career at the University of Kentucky (Lexington).

Dima's work spans across diverse media: robotic/kinetic installation, sound, video, performance and graphic arts. His work has been included in a variety of exhibitions and events at venues such as Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, LA FREEWAVES 2008 and Moscow International Biennale for Young Art.