SWEET MEDICINE

19.02 — 24.02.2025

MAMM exhibition gallery, Moscow, Russia
Curators: Irina Korina, Ekaterina Troepolskaya, Andrey Rodionov
Materials: sugar, metal wire

In childhood, when I was sick, my parents treated me in different ways. A compress of boiled potatoes. Fish oil as a syrup or massage oil. Aloe juice: drops in the nose (pure — for a runny nose, with honey and celandine decoction — for maxillary sinusitis). With colds, runny nose, sore throat, garlic will be your reliable assistant. Inhalation through the spout of the teapot. Apply the jars carefully, having previously treated the skin with petroleum jelly. Mustards were used in ancient Greece. Now it seems funny and strange to me, a little cruel.

But there was something really satisfying to me, something that required less less effort on my parents’ part. It was our compromise. At night, mom would burn sugar over the fire in a metal spoon. It boiled, turning it into a clear, sweet candy. Of all the medicines, burnt sugar not only cured, but also pleased the child. I loved the color, the fancy shape and the taste, sweet with a bitterness.

The crystal on the chandelier often reminded me of those sweet lollipops. The whole room sparkles with iridescent highlights.