In Syktyvkar, a young woman was portrayed with the Old Permic script's symbols on a hostel’s building
The portrait was made using ASCII technology, which allows creating any graphic with letters and symbols (some kind of enciphering). Just like ethnic symbols and ornaments, these are encrypted objects, phenomena, or creatures.
The artist chose the Anbur language as a layout — this is the Old Permic script, the language is completely lost now. Yan Posadsky painted the portrait with charcoal and chalk. The choice of materials is the whole work’s concept: it will disappear as a result of exposure to wind and rain, the same way as civilizations disappear, small nations assimilate, and languages become extinct.
The work was created within the framework of the Ethno Eco Art Residence, held by the Revolt Center Independent Cultural Space with the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs' (Rosmolodezh) support.
"The issue of preserving local identity — ethnic and craft traditions, rituals, folk art, ornaments — is particularly acute, when there is world-wide cultural and linguistic globalization. Only a few local residents were indigenous and identified themselves as ethnic representatives of the Komi Republic during their stay in Syktyvkar. Everyone else turned out to be Russians. Industrial development of the Russian North in the 20th century and standardized panel construction have almost destroyed the historical look of Ust-Sysolsk (now Syktyvkar). Pagan Komi residents could already experience similar changes in the 14th century, when those lands were reclaimed by the Russian principality and they were converted into Christianity by Stephen of Perm," the organizers of the art residence said.
Within the framework of the art residence, artists from the Northwestern Federal District's regions are going to create works in Syktyvkar on the following topics: "Traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples", "Ecology", "Sustainable Development", "Comfortable Environment".