Ellen Sheidlin’s Survirtualist Rainbow Cake Performance at Florence Cathedral

Russian artist and model Ellen Sheidlin staged a multimedia performance in front of Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral for Istituto Marangoni Firenze. Sheidlin, known for her massive social media following and base in Italy, positioned herself atop a large white cake as a living ornament, while seven performers represented the colorful layers of a rainbow cake with sinuous movements. The work merges art and fashion, drawing from millennial social media imagery and juxtaposing it with the Renaissance symbol of the cathedral. Sheidlin describes her style as 'survirtualism,' blending video, painting, and multimedia. Francesca Giulia Tavanti, Programme Leader of art courses at Istituto Marangoni Firenze, noted that Sheidlin's work evokes a fantastical, chameleonic world where life seems like a game, creating dreamlike landscapes that unite the oniric, virtual, and real.