THE ICING OF THE ARCHITECTS. SEN. 2018

Ship masts, parachute silk, sewing accessories

«The Icing of the Architects»* is a group of progressively thinking architects created by Ilya Voznesensky and Ilya Bilashenko in 1993 in Moscow. In the artistic works of the group, a special practice — para-architecture — can be distinguished. This specific genre does not imply an accurate and exact construction of an object, it rather accentuates a creative approach in architecture, and does not insist on absolute seriousness of it.

The artwork Sen (Canopy) was created specifically for the exhibition Architecture: Doomed to Optimism at Zarya CCA in the summer of 2018. The shape of the canopy references to Roman architecture and the Pantheon, as well as to the domes of Renaissance cathedrals.

Inspired by the seaside climate, winds and ships, architects used real masts to create the structure, and the dome was sewn from the canvas. This is an object that emerges and disappears completely due to the changes in the surrounding space and the whimsical Vladivostok weather.

(*There is a play on words in the art group’s name. In Russian language the group's name is "Obledeneniye Arkhitektorov" which literally means "The Icing of the Architects", but it also sounds very similar to "Ob'yedineniye Arkhitektorov" which means “The Unity of the Architects" or even "Architects' Association")