︎

︎RESIDENT ALIEN ︎





PSYCHOGEOGRAPHICAL
CONTEMPORARY JEWELLERY
MINI-COLLECTION




GREY


is the binding element connecting the pieces together.




CONCEPT



This body of work addresses the crisis of identity and frustration plaguing the people of the border town of Narva (Estonia). 90 000 people hold the so-called ‘ALIEN’ passports - their existence came about when the Soviet Union moved out of Estonia in 1991. A new border between Russia and Estonia was set - the river, flowing through the heart of what used to be one city.  

Some people live on one side of the border but worked on the other.
Or they lived and worked on one side, but their relatives and friends were on the other.
A temporary solution was made - grey ‘ALIEN’ passports were issued to whoever was in this situation.

To this day, they are still operational and accepted as valid.

How do you live with XXX under ‘citizenship’?
Who are you when even your country doesn’t want to claim you?
How do you make sense of your identity if you’ve been rejected on both sides of the border?




local graffiti 

front cover of a valid Narvan passport





CONTEXT



This body of work was developed during (Re)configuring Territories︎︎︎ - an interdisciplinary research program for emerging architects, artists, designers, programmers and urban planners. It was organized jointly by the Finnish Institute in Estonia︎︎︎, Narva Art Residency︎︎︎, Narva Urban Lab︎︎︎ and Trojan Horse︎︎︎. 

The program took place at the Narva Art Residency from May 6 to 12 and was structured around three overlapping workshops, each approaching Narva from a different angle and on a different temporal scale.

I took part in the workshop 'Theory, History, Poetry Workshop' led by Aiwen Yin︎︎︎, where the participants spend the week wandering, listening, reading, ruminating, conversing and writing together in the city. The end result was different for each of the participants and wasn't expected or required to follow any guidelines other than the ones intrinsically emerging from the experiential moment here and now.
 
I hadn’t planned to do a jewellery collection,
so I had no silver and no tools other than what you’d be able to get at a simple bookshop. 

Every object used for this collection is locally sourced following the methods of Psychogeography︎︎︎.





PIECE 1 --
THE SEA DOESN'T CARE
WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELF
PIECE 2 --- IDENTITY DENYERS
PIECE 2 --
ASPHALT WRAPPER




PIECE 3 ---
IDENTITY DENYERS






PIECE 4 --
HUG OF AMBIGUITY
 


 

METHOD


“Psychogeography describes the effect of a geographical location on the emotions and behaviour of individuals“


 The term was first coined by the theorist Guy Debord in 1955. This was his way of naming the playful and inventive ways of moving through the urban environment that seek to examine how spaces influence us.

I was first introduced to this concept in 2012 in Finland during EASA Wastelands, while taking part in the group Kuki Wonderland that explored Helsinki via the methods of psychogeography︎︎︎.

During the daily walks in Narva, I'd gather objects that grabbed my attention and to which I felt emotionally and intrinsically connected to. Then, at the end of the week, I repurposed them into abstract jewellery pieces.

Each of the 4 final pieces represents a place in the city that is somehow relevant to the context of Narva and its identity ambiguity of its 'alien' residents.

These walks would result in daily writings of abstractly shaped thoughts.

Deriving from the key words and phrases from these daily writings, I put together the pieces of jewellery as the materialization of written and spoken word into tangible objects.













MATERIALS x OBJECTS USED

piece of wood from Hermann Castle

asphalt piece with engrained pebbles from Kreenholm Factory grounds

aluminium antenna

plastic mesh

sea-drenched pinecone

purchased
grey yarn
glue


INSTALLATION
VIEW 1







@ NARVA URBAN LAB
[ ESTONIA ]


Narva Urban Lab explores urban processes and transformations in the context of Narva city.

The lab was initiated and hosted by Narva Art Residency︎︎︎ and Ruumiringlus︎︎︎.

It took place on May 11th carrying the title “(Re)configuring Territories”︎︎︎.





INSTALLATION
VIEW 2




@ COOLTSALON

[ SOFIA, BULGARIA ]


Simultaneous Exhibition 2019: Sofia, Belgrade, London @MOVE.BG︎︎︎

On 18 May 2019, three cities explored together the idea of a shared space by taking part in Cooltsalon’s international collaboration project, which manifests in a one-day exhibition event, happening simultaneously across 3 time zones.

In times of political uncertainty across Europe and the UK, from unknown Brexit status to redefined borders, the 2019 edition explores “Shared Space”, as understood by creative practitioners around the world.

My work delved into sharing a space among two separate ideological countries - Russia and Estonia - and how this entangles its citizens into identity ambiguity.

Index   
All rights reserved  © Borya Shapshalova 2023