I'm excited about Russian contemporary art.

I went to the exhibition of Russian contemporary art at London's Saatchi Gallery, which runs until June 9th. The works by young Russian artists selected by art collector Sir Charles Saatchi distinctively express the ideological and economic confusion and poverty experienced since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and I was deeply impressed.

I'd like to introduce several depressed and dry artists who feel resentful, saying, "Neither perestroika nor liberalism will bring happiness." To be honest...it's a shame that I can't remember their names no matter how many times I hear them (lol).

Boris Mikhailov
I'm exhibiting photographs of poor people in Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The realities of the people featured in his work are incredibly powerful.

Valery Koshlyakov
His works are drawings of buildings symbolizing huge "empires" on patched cardboard. The audacity of the dilapidated buildings and the crumbling texture of the materials express the influence and fragility of "ideas."

Irina Korina
Exhibited sculptures made from waste. By using garbage as material, she satirically expresses the fact that capitalism is nothing more than a system for redistributing waste.

Vikenti Nilin
Exhibited photographs of people sitting on window sills in housing complexes built during the Soviet era. The people, who appear to have no fear of heights at all, exude a sense of strength and a strange dullness. They seem to reflect the hardships the people in the photographs endure in their daily lives.

Against the backdrop of the Lehman Shock, the "Occupy Movement" emerged on Wall Street two years ago, and ideas like "activism," "commons," and "share" have become increasingly prominent in the art world. With the myth of liberalism crumbling, various attempts are being made to express new perspectives. Amid this, the works created by Russians who experienced the turbulent "false utopia" firsthand are incredibly contemporary and extremely important.

Since Russian Constructivism and the Avant-Garde movement 100 years ago, Russia has not seen any aesthetic development abroad, but it has suddenly become more prominent here. Perhaps this historical experience can show us the future we are heading towards...

And after seeing this Russian exhibition, I felt a thrill in London, alone and smelling the scent of spring, as I realized that art is the most sensitive and direct way to express the "now."