Alexander Ponomarev. L'anti-camouflage come atto di libertà

The “Captain Nemo” of Russian art, Alexander Ponomarev, is known for his fleet of submarines, a kind of trademark of his. His artistic activity has been viewed as Land or, rather, Sea Art, since the artist’s ‘raw material’ is water, even though he speaks of Wreck Art. This text is about the SubTiziano project, the mythical submarine moored in 2009 at Ca’ Bernardo, a site-specific installation and collateral event for the 53rd Venice Biennale. Re-emerging in the lagoon represented yet another stage (the ninth) of the ramified project Utilizacija staj (Recycling the Herd, 1996-2011). A demiurge artist, Ponomarev brings submarines back to life, as he writes in one of his poems, changing their color and shape so that they can navigate everywhere in complete freedom, appearing in the most unexpected places. He calls them “boats- chameleons”, hybrids that bear the signs of a ‘reverse’ camouflage because, instead of hiding, they want to be seen and, instead of leading the war, they respect equality and assert their strength in a positive sense.