About
Irina Merkulova
Was born in 27 February 1984
Gryfino, Poland
Lives and works in
St. Petersburg, Russia
Was born in 27 February 1984
Gryfino, Poland
Lives and works in
St. Petersburg, Russia
Artist's statement
The Аesthetics of Uncertainty
The trajectory of my creative practice unfolds across such disciplines as visual art, literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, programming, sound engineering, and video art, forming a field in which uncertainty –detached from the material world, time, and space – exists as a state wherein something may persist without being fixed as a concrete entity. This effect is achieved through work grounded in the understanding of the object as a construct, enabling various transformations that serve to actualize the theme under exploration.
Uncertainty is also linked to the aesthetics of the uncanny – das Unheimliche, a term introduced by Freud. The uncanny denotes something whose presence is distinctly felt, yet the object itself remains entirely unrecognizable; although certain of its features or characteristics vaguely suggest familiarity, it ultimately resists identification.
Uncertainty manifests in the works across multiple dimensions: form, meaning, color palette, ornamentation, and their combinations. Consequently, it becomes impossible to state definitively what is depicted; only a few elements may appear recognizable, yet they do not answer the question of what the viewer sees. Instead, they sustain an effect wherein meaning emerges precisely through its unavailability. Techniques based on the deliberate omission of one essential element required for comprehension provoke a powerful response in viewers, triggering vivid associative chains that involuntarily initiate a process of self-analysis.
Chance, as a philosophical category expressed through the absence of direct causality, serves as a rich source for forging new logical connections.
My engagement with literature occurs both through its physical carrier – the book and through texts themselves, in which the central conceptual principle of my practice is maintained: it remains impossible to determine what the text is about, to whom it is addressed, or who its author is.
Intriguing discoveries – whether arising from chance or from systematic work with the object through authorial methods – produce perceptual effects, both semantic and visual, that lay bare uncertainty, ambiguity, and the paradoxical logic of groundlessness. These are boldly presented to the viewer, stirring the imagination on their side of the encounter.
Uncertainty is also linked to the aesthetics of the uncanny – das Unheimliche, a term introduced by Freud. The uncanny denotes something whose presence is distinctly felt, yet the object itself remains entirely unrecognizable; although certain of its features or characteristics vaguely suggest familiarity, it ultimately resists identification.
Uncertainty manifests in the works across multiple dimensions: form, meaning, color palette, ornamentation, and their combinations. Consequently, it becomes impossible to state definitively what is depicted; only a few elements may appear recognizable, yet they do not answer the question of what the viewer sees. Instead, they sustain an effect wherein meaning emerges precisely through its unavailability. Techniques based on the deliberate omission of one essential element required for comprehension provoke a powerful response in viewers, triggering vivid associative chains that involuntarily initiate a process of self-analysis.
Chance, as a philosophical category expressed through the absence of direct causality, serves as a rich source for forging new logical connections.
My engagement with literature occurs both through its physical carrier – the book and through texts themselves, in which the central conceptual principle of my practice is maintained: it remains impossible to determine what the text is about, to whom it is addressed, or who its author is.
Intriguing discoveries – whether arising from chance or from systematic work with the object through authorial methods – produce perceptual effects, both semantic and visual, that lay bare uncertainty, ambiguity, and the paradoxical logic of groundlessness. These are boldly presented to the viewer, stirring the imagination on their side of the encounter.
Education
Courses
2021 — International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg, Austria, class "Dictionaries and Aporias" Ho - Tzu Nyen / Jan Gerber / Sebastian Luetgert
2023 — Stasis Centre for Practical Philosophy, European Institute, Master of Philosophy Department, "Analysis of Aesthetic Experience"
2021 — Eastern European Institute of Psychoanalysis, Freud-Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Universities
2014 — Moscow Institute of Humanities and Economics - Bachelor of Psychology. The topic of the graduation thesis is "The psychological portrait of the artist."
2008 — Institute of Fashion, Design and Technology, costume designer, specialist
The topic of the graduation thesis is synthesis of Rococo and military styles in the pret-a-porter de luxe women's clothing collection; collection: "Madame Pompadour participates in military operations", eclecticism
Finalist of the «Admiralteyskaya Igla - 2010» International Competition for Young Designers, St. Petersburg. Pret-a-porter de luxe women's clothing collection "Awakening", deconstructivism
School
1999 — Children's Art School.
She participated in many regional and All-Russian exhibitions.
Winner of the Talented Children Award -1997
Graduation thesis "The image of Russian folk dance - round dance in the forest"
2021 — International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg, Austria, class "Dictionaries and Aporias" Ho - Tzu Nyen / Jan Gerber / Sebastian Luetgert
2023 — Stasis Centre for Practical Philosophy, European Institute, Master of Philosophy Department, "Analysis of Aesthetic Experience"
2021 — Eastern European Institute of Psychoanalysis, Freud-Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Universities
2014 — Moscow Institute of Humanities and Economics - Bachelor of Psychology. The topic of the graduation thesis is "The psychological portrait of the artist."
2008 — Institute of Fashion, Design and Technology, costume designer, specialist
The topic of the graduation thesis is synthesis of Rococo and military styles in the pret-a-porter de luxe women's clothing collection; collection: "Madame Pompadour participates in military operations", eclecticism
Finalist of the «Admiralteyskaya Igla - 2010» International Competition for Young Designers, St. Petersburg. Pret-a-porter de luxe women's clothing collection "Awakening", deconstructivism
School
1999 — Children's Art School.
She participated in many regional and All-Russian exhibitions.
Winner of the Talented Children Award -1997
Graduation thesis "The image of Russian folk dance - round dance in the forest"
Exhibitions
2025 — Floartfest, Bagratuni Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2024/25 — "The book is not for reading", Mikhail Shemyakin Center, St. Petersburg, Russia
2024 — "The Heart of the Flying Fish", online exhibition, personal website
2024 — "In the arms of a Bacchante", online exhibition, personal website
2023 — Gallery A3, Moscow Exhibition Halls, "Fair 3.0", Moscow, Russia
2023 — Elokhovsky Gallery, "Labyrinths of Consciousness", Moscow, Russia
2023 — Beriozka Gallery, "Revelation of Nature", Saint Petersburg, Russia
2022 — Art Square Gallery, "Two Zero Two Three", St. Petersburg, Russia
2022 — Yolka Art Gallery, Solo exhibition "Relative Reality", painting, Moscow, Russia
2022 — Molbert Gallery, "Reflexion", St. Petersburg, Russia
2022 — "Object Number 0", online exhibition, personal website
2022 — "Window to Nowhere", Freud's Museum of Dreams, St. Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "Activation", Arton Gallery, St. Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "Dreams. In the Embrace of Morpheus", Molbert Gallery, St. Petersburg, Russia
2021 — Gallery W@P, St. Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "Psychosis", online exhibition, personal website
2021 — "System of Coordinates", Yolka Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2021 — "Preparing for Bohemia", ArtHub, Ivanovo, Russia
2021 — ''Ada's Space'', online exhibition, personal website
2020 — ''Under the Sky'', FangArte Gallery, Turin, Italy
2020 — ''Curves 'n' Forms,'' Haze Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2020 — ''Weather Forecast'', Art Community "Village", Moscow, Russia
2020 — ''Caught Light'', online exhibition, personal website
2020 — ''Self-Portrait — Adult Children'', Loft Project Etazhi, St Petersburg, Russia
2020 — ''Lonely Body'', Boomer Gallery, London, UK
2020 — ''Over the Structures'', CICA Museum, South Korea
2019 — ''Entre Dos Orillas,'' Gaudi Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2019 — ''Affordable Art Fair — 2019'', International Contemporary Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
2019 — "Concept 2019," Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, Canada
2019 — "Anatomica", Calvaria Gallery and Studio, Millville, New Jersey, USA
2019 — "International Mail-in Art Exhibition," Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, Canada
2019 — "Under Hypnosis", Mars Centre for Contemporary Art, Moscow
2019 — "Art = everything", Proun Gallery, Moscow
2018 — "LA Ventanta del Arte Gallery," Gaudi Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2018 — "The Great Exhibition of Contemporary Art", Hyde Park Room, Athenaeum Hotel, London, UK
2018 — "La Magia de Luxemburgo", Gaudi Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2018 — Art3f, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2017 — "Chrome-art" International exhibition of contemporary art, London, UK
2002 — "Inspiration", College of Light Industry, Solo exhibition of graphics, Samara, Russia
Contacts