About

Irina Merkulova

Born 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.
Education
Professional Development
2021 — International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg, Austria. Program "Dictionaries and Aporias": contemporary art / video art / programming. Instructors: Ho Tzu Nyen, Jan Gerber, Sebastian Luetgert.
2021/22 — East European Institute of Psychoanalysis. Freudian-Lacanian psychoanalysis, structural psychoanalysis
2023 — Stasis Center for Practical Philosophy, master's-level course at the Faculty of Philosophy, European University. "Analysis of Aesthetic Experience"
2019/20 — Python programming. Final project: a procedural script for creative tasks based on a custom database
Base Education
2014 — Moscow Institute of Humanities and Economics, Psychology, Bachelor's degree. Thesis: "Psychological Portrait of the Artist"
2008 — Institute of Fashion, Design and Technology, Costume Designer
1997 — Children's Art School

Solo Exhibitions


2022 — "Window to Nowhere," solo exhibition, Freud's Dream Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2022 — Yolka Art Gallery, solo exhibition "Relative Reality," painting, Moscow
2003 — "Inspiration," Light Industry College, solo graphics exhibition, Samara, Russia


Exhibitions
2026 — "A Book Not Meant for Reading," Museum Center, Moscow Dostoevsky House Museum, Moscow, Russia
2025 — "Floartfest," Bagratuni Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2024/25 — "A Book Not Meant for Reading," Mikhail Shemyakin Center, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2023 — Gallery A3, Moscow Exhibition Halls, "Fair 3.0," Moscow, Russia
2023 — Elohovskiy Gallery, "Labyrinths of Consciousness," Moscow, Russia
2023 — Beriozka Gallery, "Revelation of Nature," Saint Petersburg, Russia
2022 — Arts Square Gallery, "Two Zero Two Three," Saint Petersburg, Russia
2022 — Molbert Gallery, "Reflection," Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "Activation," Arton Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "Dreams. In the Arms of Morpheus," Molbert Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 — W@P Gallery, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2021 — "System of Coordinates," Yolka Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2021 — "Preporation of Bohemia," ArtHub, Ivanovo, Russia
2020 — "Under the Sky," FangArte Gallery, Turin, Italy
2020 — "Curves 'n' Forms," Haze Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2020 — "Weather Forecast," "Art Boloto," Art Community "Village," Moscow, Russia
2020 — "Self-Portrait — Adult Children," Loft Project Etagi, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2020 — "Single Body," Boomer Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2020 — "Over the Structures," CICA Museum, South Korea
2019 — "Entre Dos Orillas," Gallery Gaudi, Madrid, Spain
2019 — "Concept 2019," Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, Canada
2019 — "Anatomy," Calvaria Gallery and Studio, Millville, NJ, USA
2019 — "International Mail-in Art Exhibition," Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, Canada
2019 — "Under Hypnosis," MARS Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
2019 — "Art = All," Gallery Proun, Moscow, Russia
2018 — "La Ventana del Arte," Gaudi Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2018 — "Great Exhibition of Contemporary Art," Hyde Park Room, Athenaeum Hotel, London, United Kingdom
2018 — "La Magia de Luxemburgo," Gaudi Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2017 — "Chrome-art," International Contemporary Art Exhibition, London, United Kingdom

Art Fairs

2019 — "Affordable Art Fair – 2019," International Contemporary Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
2018 — Art3f, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Solo Online Exhibitions

2024 — "Heart of the Flying Fish," online exhibition, personal website
2024 — "In the Arms of Bacchante," online exhibition, personal website
2021 — "Object Number 0," online exhibition, personal website
2021 — "Psychosis," online exhibition, personal website
2021 — "Ada Space," online exhibition, personal website
2020 — "Caught Light," online exhibition, personal website
Contacts