Rachel London
I wait at the edge of Moscow
This project stems from my ongoing collaboration with Professor Irina Aristarkhova. In summer 2019, we traveled to Moscow, Russia to study the architecture firm BuroMoscow where I documented the studio and on-site visits. I began to develop a collection of images which I supplemented with observational drawing and journaling. In between doing research, Irina and I had the opportunity to have more in depth conversations about our personal relationships to both America and Russia. Our “research” transformed into something more nebulous and dotted with familial anecdotes, memories, and anxieties. This project features photography, experimental architectural drawings, and creative writing to investigate, what I would call, the responsibility of those who look. I am interested in how different modes of looking or perception affect and construct private and public relationships. In this project I question, trace, and refract my gaze as an outsider [to Russia].
Relaxing in Aleksandrovky Garden while
a Man Sleeps in Triumfalnaya Square.
Amidst the glow of Pushkinskaya’s six metro entrances,
I trace the Garden Ring road.
Self-Portrait from the outlook in Zaryadye park with a Stalin Sister.
A cosmonaut looks out
at Tverskaya street.
I wait at the edge of Moscow,
arms outstretched from the Red Square to Mayakovskaya,
until I finally descend into Belorusskaya’s glow.