'A Foreign Body' is a series of interdisciplinary artistic works dedicated to themes of alienation, homelessness, and estrangement. The notion of the foreign body is taken from medicine and means "something that is stuck inside you but isn't supposed to be there". By analogy with this definition, I consider the human individual as something foreign, alien to their social, cultural or economic environment. My interest in these concepts stems from my personal experience of constantly relocating. My childhood was marked by frequent moves to different towns across Russia, and later in life, I moved to France during my college years. I have had the privilege to live and work in various countries, including Belgium, France, Spain, Russia, and Croatia. While currently residing in Croatia since April 2022, I remain a non-citizen and do not possess any properties or familial connections within the country. As such, I often ponder whether I can genuinely consider Croatia my home or if I remain a mere guest in the country. This leads me to question my roots and where I can truly call home. Due to the recent political and economic commotions, many individuals were relocated, some voluntarily and others by force, and my research, initially motivated by the purely personal case, was supplemented by collective experience. Upon engaging in discussions with my social circle and individuals I recently encountered, I came to recognize a shared sentiment prevalent among all of us. It pertained to the absence of command over circumstances, ambiguity regarding the future, loneliness, and the need to rediscover ways of functioning in a community.
To effectively convey these ideas in my works, I approach them through the lens of landscape politics. In my pieces, the protagonists interact with their environment to establish their position in the world. Using diverse film techniques to depict landscapes, I aim to capture the subtle emotions of individuals and emphasize their vulnerability.