Arina Gri (Grigarin)
From Without | From Within

This installation is built around the concept of mediaeval water torture. Molten lead drips incessantly onto the front of a mask. It cools and solidifies, gradually altering the shape of the surface, falling layer after layer, with no clear-cut moment of destruction. The change is gradual and almost invisible, but becomes more visible with every drip.

The work explores lead in its role as one of the most common yet hidden pollutants. It builds up in our bodies and remains there for a long time, affecting our physiology and sometimes impacting future generations. At the same time, objects made of lead such as jewellery or decorative pieces are rarely seen as a source of risk, and are even technically considered safe.

The project shifts our attention from the substance itself to the way in which it is dismissed and ignored. Lead stands as a model for our way of dealing with invisible threats. The gradual buildup of the metal does not immediately destroy the shape, but invisibly overwrites it. What looks at first like an external influence grows until it is considered part of the structure itself.