River God, 2021

Vladimir Kolesnikov never ceases to amaze with his creativity. A master of mixing different cultural layers, this time he combined his favorite image of a pin-up model with the ancient Greek heritage – the statue of the river god Ilissos. The history of the statue is rich. It was one of the decorations of the Parthenon. Ilissos, among many other marble masterpieces of antiquity, was brought to Britain in the early 19th century by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin. Greece was under Ottoman rule at the time. In 1816, Great Britain bought the Parthenon sculptures and exhibited ithem n the British Museum. Two hundred years later, Vladimir Kolesnikov placed a charming girl with a hammer in her hand on the statue. The statue contains quite a few surprises. What will happen to Ilissos in two hundred years ahead? This remains a mystery.