Yelena Popova
Yelena Popova (b. 1978, Urals, Russia) lives and works in Nottingham. Yelena graduated from MA Painting at the Royal College of Art in 2011. Recent solo shows include: The Portrait Gallery, Cole Gallery, London 2013; NN gallery, Northampton 2013; ‘Invites’ Zabludowicz Collection, London 2012; ‘Unnamed’ Figge von Rosen Gallery, Berlin 2012. Recent group exhibitions include: ‘Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union’ Saatchi Gallery, London 2012; ‘Red Mansion Prize’ RA, London 2012; ‘Twofold’ Outpost Gallery, Norwich 2012; ‘Bloomberg New Contemporaries’ 2011 and ‘New Sensations’ 2011. Forthcoming: ‘The Futures of the Past: Annette Amberg, Asier Mendizabal and Yelena Popova’ Kunst Raum Riehen, Basel. Yelena’s work is at Saatchi Collection, Zabludowicz Collection and various private collections.
Yelena Popova’s video-essays are concerned with creating perceptibility for underlying concepts which govern our understanding of history and influence the way we organize our present society. Past, present and improbable future come together in this video, raising complex moral questions about the lack of independent trade unions in China, the nature of progress and environmental issues linked to climate change and economic expansion.