Quieter than Water Lower than Grass Exhibition Opening

Roundabouts Now is pleased to present “Quieter than Water, Lower than Grass,” a solo presentation of new work by Viktorsha Uliyanova. Recently commissioned by NYSCA and Arts Mid-Hudson, in this new body of work Uliyanova examines the fragility of memory and its impact on history, immigrant narratives, and cultural identity. The work uses analog photographic processes, fabric, and video to explore remembrance, storytelling, and ancestral healing. Sourcing from family albums, oral histories, and archives, she utilizes materials and techniques that reference matrilineage, domesticity, and transgenerational trauma.The show takes its name from a Soviet idiom that instills a behavior of keeping a low profile, avoiding self-attention, and acting in a way that does not generate conflict. The phrase has been used as a deliberate linguistic tool to disseminate imperialist ideologies, generate fear, and maintain repressive socio-political tactics in the USSR. Through layering of fabrics and the deep blue hues of the cyanotype process, the work visualizes histories that have been hidden, obscured, and lost. “Quieter than Water, Lower than Grass” emphasizes the importance of community knowledge and critical engagement with dominant narratives in order to recognize their limitations and biases.