БОЛЬШАЯ ПЕШКА
BOLSHAYA PESHKA (The Big Pawn)
A site-specific installation conceived for New Holland Island in Saint Peterburg, Russia, 2020
I have come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists.
Marcel Duchamp
Background
When the World Chess Championship took place in St. Petersburg in 1914, the Cuban master Capablanca competed for the main title. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time, with an ever-present smile on his face.
His fictional counterpart is Aleksandr Luzhin, the main figure in Vladimir Nabokov's novel "The Defence". Luzhin is an awkward, withdrawn, and disoriented chess genius. He has a nightmare in which he, as a naked pawn, is surrounded by huge figures—"some with a crown, some with a mane"—attacking him in a deadly struggle.
The 1925 silent movie Chess Fever, directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin, shows the obsession of a multitude of chess players. In this movie, one already known character reappears, spreading an optimistic realm: José Raúl Capablanca.
St. Petersburg used to be the playground of many chess matters, and BOLSHAYA PESHKA renews this vision and dissolves Luzhin's nightmare. His alter ego—the small pawn—inflates itself and grows into a golden, self-confident subject.
Contradiction
Pause and think. A small, unimportant thing could become a significant, precious matter. An installation could be temporary but leave enduring memories. A vacant public space could be cocooned by air and thin fabric to metamorphose into a monumental pneumatic substance. This pneuma breathes new life into the city and makes the invisible visible.
Vision
BOLSHAYA PESHKA is a colossal, fantastic sculpture that spreads a surreal realm over New Holland Island, seducing visitors to stroll around it. Beyond its physical boundary, the Pawn extends its visual realm, making it visible from many points across the city: it becomes a temporary landmark.
Play as Public Art
The city becomes a chessboard to play Chess: the art of the game. BOLSHAYA PESHKA initiates dialogues between its imaginary counterparts, people and buildings, in its cheerful way. It plays with the perception between personal standards and social illusions.
The joyful installation invites people to interact and play with the artwork. The platform on the pond of the island turns into a stage on the water. People enter the sculpture and become performers, completing the comprehensive experience.
The BOLSHAYA PESHKA project was supposed to be realised in June 2020, but has been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Artist
Marco Canevacci and Yena Young (Plastique Fantastique)
Special thanks
Aleksey Rousanov, New Holland
Nastya Gayvoronskaya, New Holland
Robert Meyknecht, geo - Die Luftwerker
Boris Reyher, sbp – schlaich bergermann partner
View from river Moyka / Arch of Vallin de la Mothe
View from Konnogvardeyskiy Bul'var
Interior view