Duo Show with Bora Akinciturk at másla lissé, Moscow, Russia
23.12.23 — 18.01.24
Photo by Slava Nesterov

‘THE ARTIST’ Bora Akinciturk and Arthur Golyakov: An instagram chat about being an artist and some other things…

It was getting evening. I went out on the porch to get some fresh air and suddenly thought that I hadn't painted from life in a long time. Does anyone need it now, though? Or maybe it's no longer necessary for me? So many thoughts in my head lately. What can I do to calm down a bit? Should I confess something to myself maybe? Confess what? There's the day before yesterday’ chicken in the fridge, I need to finish it....

A call from a stranger. Okay, whatever.

- Hello, is that Mr. * * whom I’m talking to?
- Yes, that's me. Who is this?
- This is the *** bank security department representative speaking, is it convenient for you to talk now?

*end of conversation*

Is it convenient for me to talk now... she could have asked me if it was convenient for me to live. You see, Mr. * * we received an alarming call, we were informed that you are not convenient living; you should contact our VIP customer service manager immediately, as you have been a VIP customer of our bank for the last 3 years...

But she wouldn’t say that. Who is she after all? A girl from Saratov, Olga. Duchess Olga. Killed all her fucking enemies, that's the spirit. Not the one from Saratov. It's getting evening. I sit on the porch and breathe in the smell of lilacs. I'm ashamed to think about it seriously, but I really want to. I am Mikhail Vrubel, I am the artist. Before he went mad, of course.

There is nothing wrong with me in the complete, total, perfect order of things.

Tasks for tomorrow: call Olga, another Olga maybe, finish the chicken, start a new painting from life.

It got dark

— Natalya Serkova, 2023