This work is derived from the video installation Rehearsal for Swan Lake (2024), which refers to Soviet censorship: at times of political or social unrest (the death of a head of state, for example), state television would broadcast Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake continuously for days. In Rehearsal for Swan Lake, ballet dancers – led by Ukrainian dancer and choreographer Oksana Serheieva – rehearse selected scenes from the famous ballet, calling for the ballet to be broadcast one more time, preparing for regime change.
In Rehearsal, the artist captured a moment when the pops and scuffs of shoes on wood, the stroke of piano keys and Serheieva’s instructions, stopped. The dancers take a break, returning soon for the afternoon session and continue the call for political change. What they leave behind is an empty room, save for a mirror, a barre and tutus resting on the floor – an impressionist image of anticipation and hope.
Anna Jermolaewa (b. 1970 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) lives and works in Vienna, Austria.
Pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta
42 × 59.4 cm
Copies: 12 + 3 AP + 2 HC
Numbered and signed
Available in the museum shop only.