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Valery Katsuba
METAMORPHOSES. THE MONARCH
METAMORPHOSES OF MONARCH, 2005
Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe, Valery Katsuba
The baroque, rococo or "Russian baroque" suburban residences of the Russian Emperors near St. Petersburg were built with Versailles, Italy and Holland in mind. And it is quite certain, thought photographer Valery Katsuba, that Peter the Great imagined that Louis XIV was his guest as he strolled among the grand fountains in the Lower Park at Peterhof, and that at Peterhof or Oranienbaum Catherine the Great thought about Frederick the Great of Prussia or Queen Elizabeth I of England. This is the inspiration for "Metamorphoses of Monarch". As though the daydreams of the Russian Emperors have been made flesh for a short time, and their honored guests - symbols of the power, wisdom and taste of the courts of Europe - have appeared like visions in their luxurious residences. On the other hand, perhaps every great Emperor imagined himself in the place of a fellow autocrat, which is why all the kings are reincarnated by just one actor and artist: Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe, who tests this metamorphosis on himself.
Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe, Valery Katsuba
The baroque, rococo or "Russian baroque" suburban residences of the Russian Emperors near St. Petersburg were built with Versailles, Italy and Holland in mind. And it is quite certain, thought photographer Valery Katsuba, that Peter the Great imagined that Louis XIV was his guest as he strolled among the grand fountains in the Lower Park at Peterhof, and that at Peterhof or Oranienbaum Catherine the Great thought about Frederick the Great of Prussia or Queen Elizabeth I of England. This is the inspiration for "Metamorphoses of Monarch". As though the daydreams of the Russian Emperors have been made flesh for a short time, and their honored guests - symbols of the power, wisdom and taste of the courts of Europe - have appeared like visions in their luxurious residences. On the other hand, perhaps every great Emperor imagined himself in the place of a fellow autocrat, which is why all the kings are reincarnated by just one actor and artist: Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe, who tests this metamorphosis on himself.
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