Rope Training

Gel transfer, graphite, paint, mixed media on canvas; monumental scroll format

Using photographic transfers of dolls and rope knots, ROPE TRAINING examines childhood as a condition shaped by repeated systems of control rather than singular acts of harm. The work explores how discipline, restraint, and ideological pressure are quietly normalized and internalized, leaving lasting psychological structures without visible rupture.

While grounded in psychological development, the work carries a subtle but unmistakable post-Soviet resonance. The disciplined, regulated body recalls a childhood shaped by:

• ideological collapse

• material scarcity

• emotional restraint as survival

• obedience embedded in daily life

Rather than illustrating historical events, the work translates them into bodily logic. Control appears not as state imagery, but as posture, positioning, and containment.

Process as Concept

The transfer technique reinforces the work’s meaning.

Images of dolls and rope are fragmented, printed, gel-transferred, and physically washed until only thin, translucent skins remain. These fragile membranes are reassembled by hand, leaving visible seams and areas of loss.

This process of erosion and reconstruction mirrors psychological formation under pressure: memory is partial, surfaces are worn, and meaning persists despite degradation.