The Storming of the Winter Palace – Forensics of an Image

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, the exhibition The Storming of the Winter Palace - Forensics of an Image is dedicated to the photograph, which more than any other, has become the symbol of this revolution: the storming of the Winter Palace. However, the photograph does not stem from the historic event itself, but rather from a mass spectacle, staged by the Russian theatre director Nikolai Evreinov in 1920. The exhibition presents film footage and photographs of the mass spectacle of 1920, as well as the photo’s journey to becoming a document in the writing of Soviet history, in picture books, schoolbooks, and on posters. In addition, works by contemporary artists comment on the storming of the Winter Palace, while reflecting on wider issues such as history, memory, re-enactment and repetition.

Curated by Inke Arns & Sylvia Sasse

With: Chto Delat, Nikolaj Evreinov, Waldemar Fydrych (Orange Alternative), Cristina Lucas, Kazimir Malevich, Milo Rau – International Institute of Political Murder, Peter Watkins

A cooperation between HMKV (Hartware MedienKunstVerein) and the University of Zurich

The exhibition will be presented, from April 2018, at the Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz (Poland)

In parallel HMKV presents the exhibitions The Border, an exhibition project by the Goethe-Institut (Level 6, until April 8, 2018), and Afro-Tech and the Future of Re-Invention (Level 3, until April 22, 2018). The HMKV Video of the Month (Level 3) is a monthly series of screenings of recent video works by international artists. In the vertical space of the Dortmunder U The Hard Drawing by Dan Perjovschi continues to be on view (until November 2018).

Publication
On the occasion of the exhibition a book has been published—Nikolai Evreinov: The Storming of the Winter Palace; (Zurich: Diaphanes, 2017, separate German and English editions)—that is available at HMKV.

Funded by the
Kulturstiftung des Bundes
Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen

Swiss National Science Foundation

Project partner
University of Zurich

Cooperation partners
Gessnerallee, Zurich, Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland

Main funder HMKV
Dortmunder U – Center for Art and Creativity

Media partner
HEIMATDESIGN