The new work of the St.Petersburg group of artists and activists ‘Chto Delat’ was barred from public viewing soon after its inauguration.

The new installation of the St. Petersburg-based group ‘Chto Delat’ marries old-school pirate romanticism with political activism. This hyper-active collective, whose name translates as “What is to be done”, was founded in 2003. Since then, it has managed to pursue a successful international career, while running its own independent art institution. ‘DK Rozy’ (“Rosa’s House of Culture”) offers a varied programme of creative and educational activities to the St. Petersburg public. The group often uses traditional folk crafts for their thought-provoking artworks charged with anti-capitalist messages. Their new creation ‘Blood-Tears-Slime: The Black Sails of Care’ (2020) was commissioned by Düsseldorf’s Kunstpalast museum for the exhibition ‘Time for Outrage! Art in Times of Social Anger’. A skull, naval signal flags and pirate black sails adorned with textile collages depicting three bodily fluids – blood, tears and slime – deliver a vaguely ominous warning. The message gets clearer, once the viewer realises, upon closer inspection, that the skull is a photo collage of civil uprisings in different parts of the world. However, not many visitors have had a chance to heed it, as the exhibition was closed for a month-long quarantine just three days after the opening. Could it be that the ship of the world has strayed off its course?