Polished stainless steel, 999 gold, fire, 120 × 120 × 280 cm

In the installation Stripping Time, the artist creates an image of extreme concentration of form and symbol. A polished stainless steel pole, coated in the purest gold, rises from a circular mirrored podium. At its top, a barely visible candle burns — its flame becoming the conceptual and emotional focal point of the piece.

While formally minimalist, the work is internally charged with tension. Here, gold does not symbolize wealth or triumph, but rather the illusion of permanence. It is a superficial layer, incapable of shielding the object from the passage of time — just as it cannot resist the small flame integrated into the structure.

The fire does not destroy the object, but disturbs its illusion of immutability. It acts as a subtle indicator that even within seemingly perfect forms, time continues to flow — imperceptible, yet unstoppable. The title Stripping Time refers not so much to a bodily gesture, but to the slow peeling away of time itself — a removal of its outer layer.

This is not merely a work about club aesthetics or eroticized verticality. It is a quiet image of a moment in which the promise of a fairy tale disappears, leaving behind only its reflection — cold, metallic, motionless.

Photography and video by Nikita Subbotin