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![White Walls and Exercises in Freedom]( "White Walls and Exercises in Freedom")
infoInstallation view
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![Thirst]( "Thirst")
infoFrom the project 'White Walls and Exercises in Freedom'
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![Under the Scapula]( "Under the Scapula")
infoFrom the project 'White Walls and Exercises in Freedom'
An exploration of human resistance to mechanisms of oppression
My work is a continuous exploration of human resistance to crises and mechanisms of oppression. I’m intrigued by events and ideas that embody the conflict of ‘individual’ and ‘collective’, so with my photographs I strive to engage the viewers into contemplation on their own role in society. I approach political issues in a non-moralistic, often paradoxical way — like portraying something abhorrent as very beautiful — in order to trigger an emotional response from the audience. A lot of my photographs are a documentation of staged physical performances, which borrow significantly from the vocabulary of contemporary choreography.
Websites
personal website
alex-avgud.comSocial media
Curriculum vitae
Education
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2015 - 2019Photography Den Haag, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten
exhibitions
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2019Best of Graduates 2019 Galerie Ron Mandos Amsterdam, Netherlands The twelfth edition of the yearly exhibition that brings together the work of the most promising young artists. Together with curator Radek Vana, the team of Galerie Ron Mandos visits the graduation shows of all art academy’s BA programmes in the Netherlands to scout talent. The selection is characterised by a variety of subjects and media, and traditionally results in a vibrant mix of ambitious graduation projects. www.ronmandos.nl/exhibitions/best-graduates-2019 Group
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2019Royal Academy of Art Graduation Festival KABK The Hague, Netherlands Royal Academy of Art Graduation Festival www.kabk.nl/agenda/graduation-festival-2019 Group
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2019Push it to the Limit Melkweg Expo Amsterdam, Netherlands Preview of Graduation projects by KABK Photography www.melkweg.nl/en/agenda/push-it-to-the-limit-24-05-2019/ Group
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2018EYE on Art: Researchlabs EYE Filmmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands Students from eight art academies and universities present a programme of new work, remixes of films or short historical avant-garde films from EYE’s collection. www.eyefilm.nl/en/themes/researchlabs-2018 Group
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2018Good Work Grey Space in the Middle The Hague, Netherlands Exhibition of 'Noun Presents', art-collective of KABK Photography students www.facebook.com/events/199145213976280/ Group
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2017FOAM X ARLES: Collaborate! at Les Rencontres d’Arles La Bourse du Travail Arles, France Exhibition and daily zines: the result of the collaboration between photography students of the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague and the University of Art and Design (ECAL) in Lausanne. www.foam.org/museum/programme/foam-x-arles Group
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2017Let me tell you about UNSEEN Photo Fair Amsterdam, Netherlands On-site pavilion at Unseen Photo Fair with works of 12 KABK Photography students. 35.157.153.21/looking-back-let-me-tell-you-about Group
Projects
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2019
White Walls and Exercises in Freedom The Hague, Netherlands I never told my parents I am gay. I was born in Moscow a few years before the fall of the USSR. On the working-class outskirts of that city, homosexuality is meant to be suppressed. So I felt alienated from my environment. But what does it mean to fit in? After relocating to the Netherlands, I realized being gay in the East feels a lot like being a migrant artist in the West. It seems like I'm losing my cultural identity, that I am slowly surrendering to Calvinist sterility. Both my native world of grey panel housing and the world of endlessly white Dutch walls equally expect me to comply to their 'norms'. Because every culture demands a chunk of your freedom, and every society strives to grind down the misfits.
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2018
Coal Dust The Hague, Netherlands In Cold Dust I address the state of in-betweenness experienced by a migrant, whose past is obscured, and the present—scarred. I talk about emotional fragility caused by relocation as a political choice, and what me and my husband recently went through to keep us afloat.
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2017
Modern Martyrs The Hague, Netherlands A series of performances exploring body language of political protest and iconography of resistance to acts of police brutality.
Commissions
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2019Finally a sign of Life Korzo Theater The Hague, Netherlands Promotional photographs for a dance piece by choreographer Antonin Rioche. finished
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2018Areas of Intervention Vrij Nederland Amsterdam, Netherlands Current level of terrorist threat to the Netherlands is set at ‘substantial’, level 4 on the scale of 1 to 5. Does this mean we should be worried? And how are we being protected from terror attacks? In order to answer these questions I turned to examining the Dutch Counter-terrorism strategy 2016—2020, a publicly available document. There one can find 5 defining elements to dealing with the threat, which are called ‘areas of intervention’. These include : Procure, Prevent, Protect, Prepare, Pursue (Verwerven, Voorkomen, Verdedigen, Voorbereiden, Vervolgen). My project strives to visualise these concepts, which still sound abstract despite the familiarity of the words and their meaning. Not only I wish to decipher the inner logic of the State, and to comprehend the language of bureaucracy of power, but I also want to invite people to contemplate our actual involvement in aspects of life we rarely think about. Do we ever read official releases published by the government? Documents shaping up tax spendings? To what extent are we compliant to the doings of the government if we feel it starts abusing our rights in the name of fighting terror? vn.nl/fotodocument-nationaal-terreurbeleid/ finished
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20184 magazine 4 Magazine The Hague, Netherlands Shoots for the magazine of Fashion and Textile department of KABK finished
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2018Rocks and Blood Het Magazijn The Hague, Netherlands Exhibition in the nightclub Het Magazijn finished
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2017Shelter Shelter Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands Artwork of the month for Amsterdam nightclub Shelter shelteramsterdam.nl/art/december-2017/ finished
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20174 magazine 4 Magazine The Hague, Netherlands Shoots for the magazine of Fashion and Textile department of KABK finished
Publications
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2019Graduation Festival Catalogue Catalog KABK The Hague, Netherlands KABK Graduation Festival Catalogue
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2019Baobab magazine Book Baobab The Hague, Netherlands Feature of 'Coal Dust' project in the magazine.
reviews
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2019Het zij ze gegund! Blog/Vlog Bertus Pieters villalarepubblica.wordpress.com/2019/07/10/het-zij-ze-gegund-graduation-festival-2019-koninklijke-academie-van-beeldende-kunsten-kabk-den-haag/ Review of KABK Graduation Festival
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2019The Hague New: fresh from the Academy Newspaper Jasper Gramsma The Hague, Netherlands Den Haag Centraal newspaper cultural supplement Uitdekunst - article and interview.
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2018How a Russian photographer elevates our national terror policy to an art project Website Redactie Vrij Nederland Amsterdam, Netherlands www.vn.nl/alex-avgud-terreurbeleid/ Interview about project 'Areas of Intervention'
Awards and grants
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2019Stroom KABK Invest Award (sinds 2004) Stroom, Den Haag The Hague, Netherlands