AES+F

The group of artists AES was founded in 1987 in Moscow where they now live and work. In 1995 the three initial members (Arzamasova Tatiana (b.1955), Evzovich Lev (b.1958) and Svyatsky Evgeny (b. 1957)) were joined by the photographer Vladimir Fridkes (b.1956) to become AES+F. Their collaborative work brought them to light, first in Moscow, then later around the world, mostly in Japan, Germany and France. Their conceptual projects are inscribed in the new era of digital images and videos which entered the art world and created a new market. One of their early conceptual projects from 1996 called the Travel Agency to the Future (Islamic project) expressed their socio-political ideas through a fake travel agency office they had created. Later, the two video installations they produced titled Last Riot and The Feast of Trimalchio described an invented mythology with fictional characters and depicted ages of innocence as well as the violence of war. In addition to the videos, AES+F are known for making three dimensional sculptures in white moulded plastic or porcelain, often based on the characters of their videos. Various influences can be seen in their artwork referring to the imagery of video games and three dimensional movies. Another aspect of their collaboration is dedicated to photography through exploring digital collages. Their video installation Unconditional Love presented at the 53rd Venice Biennale (Arsenale Novissimo, 2009) marked their official entry into the international contemporary art world.