The Carlton, Moscow

In September, guests of The Carlton, Moscow will be able to view the 2021 video work “Rock Garden” from the private collection of Sergey Limonov, founder of the Limonov Art Foundation. The work was created by Vasily Kononov-Gredin.

The video captures a total installation that was unveiled in 2021 in the town of Satka, Sverdlovsk Region, at the Berezovsky Quarry. It occupied 264,000 square meters and consisted of 250 steel mirrors installed on the quarry's benches and walls. Since 1980, magnesite had been mined here for the production of refractory materials. At the end of 2020, mining ceased when the pumps removing water from the bottom were stopped, and the quarry slowly began to fill with water.

The artificiality of the industrial landscape, its contemplation through mirrors and refracted sunlight, created a space reminiscent of a Japanese rock garden. The installation allowed viewers to see sections of the quarry previously hidden from view and challenge their usual perspective on the landscape. The cosmos was reflected in a person, and through the mirror installation, one could see how the human world was reflected in the quarry. Today, the quarry is flooded, and along with the installation, it has disappeared beneath the waves, only a large turquoise lake remains as a reminder of the former mining operations here.