Neighborwood

Michael Davydov | Materials: Wood, cardboard,  synthetic, paper, acrylic, epoxy resin and glass | 12.5 x 26 cm

“If our universe were a forest, all of humanity would live on one tree reaching for its sun. This close coexistence, like a neighborhood, surprisingly exists despite attempts to cut off one branch after another on our common home.” David

” I was born in 1996, in a small town on a river, in the central part of Russia. At the age of about 20, I moved to Ukraine, and after the war began, I was forced to move to Denmark, where I currently live. 

 I have been fond of creativity since early childhood, tried many types of techniques and materials. I painted with watercolours, gouache, pencils. I received my first orders for drawings in high school. Then I became interested in portraits and animalistic, and at the same time made illustrations for books by regional authors. 

  In education, I gave preference to my second passion – cooking, and later, after several years of a restaurant career as a chef and pastry chef, I decided to switch completely to art. After moving to Ukraine, I worked as a freelance concept artist for indie video game studios and became interested in the idea of designing florariums – mini green gardens made of fur and plants in glass vessels.

  After experimenting with living materials, I decided to dive into the art of imitation, replacing plants and mini landscapes with different materials according to my own recipes. And since the theme of nature has long been the leitmotif of my work, as one of the main sources of inspiration, during my life far from home, a second important element appeared in my works – home. The theme of home, homeland, native land, as a place of memories, to which it is pleasant and a little sad to return – this is what inspired me to preserve, “freeze” these moments under glass. 

 A fragile at first glance structure, understandable forms and motives, the theme of one’s own tiny world, which the viewer himself is free to fill with his own thoughts. In each of my worlds, there is always a place of peace and comfort for the imagination of the viewer. 

Thus, about five years ago, the theme of nature and home firmly united into one important motive of creativity for me.

 When making a new tiny house, I like to leave a piece of the emotions that prevail over me at the moment of creation. This affects such not very noticeable details, in addition to the colour and compositional part, as the absence or presence of stairs to the houses, doors or house numbers – sometimes it is about openness, accessibility or inaccessibility of the house, especially recently, when I live in a state of perennial migration.

 The first group exhibitions were in my hometown, I was also a finalist in the international wildlife competition, I tried to present my first sculptures at city art fairs, and then, starting in Paris, the first serious exhibitions of my mini worlds took place, then cooperation with galleries in Germany and Denmark, and exhibitions in Hamburg and Berlin, now England is next in line, your gallery and a separate sculpture have already been selected for the London Biennale.” David

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