Anna Mirkin
FUTURE MONUMENTS
Personal Biography
Anna Mirkin (Moscow 1983) is a visual artist working in a wide range of media, based in Berlin since 2018. She studied at the Fashion Design Department of Shenkar College in Ramat-Gan and received several awards for her work. In recent years, her work has focused on connecting the digital and physical worlds. Working in a variety of media, including installation, textiles, drawing, new media and murals, as well as participatory and collaborative projects. She integrates ready-made materials into spatial and virtual assemblages, creating new narratives and perspectives on familiar situations. Mirkin’s work explores the connections between personal identity, memory and the collective subconscious, using pop aesthetics to reflect on the cultural symbols and power structures that underpin them.
Mirkin’s work has been exhibited in several museums, institutions, and galleries, including the Haifa Museum of Art and Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art.
In 2021, she was selected for the LABA Berlin artist fellowship. Her recent projects include the interactive installation ‘UX’ at the Neun Kelche Gallery, the international project ‘A Lying Sun’ at the im Turm Gallery in Berlin (2022), and the Almacen Gallery in Jaffa (2023).
Project
Anna Mirkins’ project integrates archival materials, such as letters and testimonials, with AI generative models and robotic paintings to reflect on personal histories from the Soviet era. The project uses AI image generation to give visual form to stories that were undocumented with photography. The robotic painting adds another layer of conceptual and emotional depth through the transformation of the AI images into physical drawings. Programmed to mimic the artist’s handwriting, this challenges the viewer’s perception of the boundaries between human and artificial creation. The drawings are then used in a 3-dimensional immersive installation. This ‘floating monument’ evokes personal memories of the Soviet era and offers personal perspectives on the monolithic narratives of history. The project examines the intersection of collective memory and technology, rethinking commemoration in the age of artificial intelligence. It raises critical questions about how new digital media can shape and create reality. ‘Future Monuments’ presents an innovative application of AI in a social project, utilizing archival texts as prompts.
The project emphasizes the importance of small moments, memories, and perspectives that make up our reality. This approach stands in contrast to the present-day prevalence of AI-generated misinformation and the historic unifying narratives of Soviet propaganda. The project aims to promote a nuanced and multi-layered understanding of history. It re-imagines the role of monuments as a collective creation that encapsulates a multitude of personal experiences beyond nationalism and reflects our diverse histories.
This project raises questions about how robotics can assist in creating monuments collaboratively. How can the visual collective subconsciousness database of AI image generators be mobilized to create impactful social art projects? And how are public narratives shaped in digital public spaces?
Links
Instagram: @anna_mirkin
Website: www.annamirkin.com