Olga Kisseleva: Rendering the Invisible Visible

Olga Kisseleva, a Russian-born artist trained in mathematics, approaches cultures as structures to be observed, analyzed, and explained. Her video and photographic work aims to render the world's complexity visible. Living between Russia and France, she embodies the post-diaspora artist as defined by Viktor Misiano: existing at the intersection of national origin, local context, and globalized reality. Her practice operates at the boundary of the political, focusing on anthropological content and societal dysfunctions. Each project begins with a problem, involving extensive research, collaboration with specialists, and organization of symposia. Her teaching at university is central to her process. Works like 'It's Time' (2010), created with quantum physicist Sylvain Reynal, use an electronic wall clock that adjusts time based on the visitor's internal rhythm via a hand sensor. At the Abbaye de Maubuisson in 2008, she projected video of a nearby shopping mall onto curtain walls combined with printed tags containing short texts. Her series 'Divers Faits' (2009-2010) comprises color photographs of still lifes accompanied by fictional biographies, exploring symbolic content in Russian and French cultures. A dictionary of links and differences between the two cultures, created with Manou Farine and Claire Guezengar, accompanies the series. Kisseleva's motto is 'Rendre visible l'invisible' (Make the invisible visible).