RAPTURE | Maxim Didenko

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RAPTURE (DARK TIMES)

RAPTURE (DARK TIMES)

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GALERIE KUCHLING
BERLIN, GERMANY

Performance, exhibition, film

Premiere took place on 18 February 2023

CREATIVE TEAM

Pavel Semchenko

Igor Tsvetkov

Maxim Didenko

In 2020, Europe plunged into covid restrictions that not only paralyzed social life, but also destroyed the previous conditions of comfortable existence. Ghosts of an impending apocalypse, climate crisis, confined space, total control, emotional repression, depression and nervous states, escapism, as well as signs of an impending catastrophe of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All this was reflected in the universe of "DARK TIMES" which appeared in 2019 as animated pieces in the works of artist Igor Tsvetkov and developed to a full state in collaboration with director Maxim Didenko. Noir, necrorealism, sci-fi, cyberpunk and surrealism intersect, showing the apocalyptic world of the universe, in a short film made by Maxim Didenko and Igor Tsvetkov, graphic works by Pavel Semchenko, and animated works and graphics by Igor Tsvetkov at the multidisciplinary exhibition “RAPTURE”

Movie “RAPTURE” (2023)

2002, future. After a series of apocalyptic events, human life has completely changed. At an unidentified military base, near a small village, soldiers continue to mysteriously disappear. And the area was flooded with strange vagina-headed mutants. With dwindling resources, the villagers are forced to engage in artisanal biotechnology and the local Detective and his gang are "blade running" between law and crime.

“RAPTURE”

Animated artworks, graphic arts by Igor Tsvetkov (2019-2021)

The series is based on the work of psychoanalysts working with the dreams of soldiers during the Second World War. Independently, many therapists have discovered patterns of soldiers’ dreams. All of them dreamed of aliens who kidnapped men, moved into their bodies and came to earth to terrorize the population and do all kinds of evil and nasty things.

“METAMORPHOSIS”

Animated artworks, graphic arts by Igor Tsvetkov and Maxim Didenko

A series of 15 animated pieces and 135 frames of animation complements the previous 2019-2021 series by revealing the story of metamorphosis

The "Rapture" universe is a mix of a post-apocalyptic world and a parallel reality. After a great flood caused by global warming, the world is divided into small archipelagos of islands scattered around the planet, and an endless storm rages in the world's oceans, complicating communication not only between the archipelagos but also between the nearby islands. With the connections between them lost, traditional communities, nation states and multinational companies have broken down. Armies are scattered among the archipelagos and have become independent armed associations, sometimes turning into bandit formations, sometimes retaining a semblance of military order, trying to maintain the army hierarchy structure.

There are alien forces operating on Earth, kidnapping people, mostly soldiers, turning them into some kind of mutant zombies. They are rumoured to be not only dangerous, but also a valuable resource, a source of energy for the survivors.