Zhanna Kadyrova

Although she works in multiple formats, Zhanna Kadryova is best known for her mosaics that critique Soviet aesthetic traditions by evoking the styles of Constructivism and Socialist Realism. Her use of the medium alludes to its history as an ideological art form during the Soviet era and its more decorative function following Ukrainian independence. In the installation Crowd (2012–13), she assembled collages of newspaper photographs on 40 glass panels, removing signifiers of context, geography, and class. The aggregation of faces functions as a metaphor for protests, demonstrating how individuality dissolves within larger political movements.