Leni Smoragdova

Leni Smoragdova is a figurative photographer, filmmaker, and performance artist who has performed and exhibited across Europe and in New York. Notable exhibitions include Glasgow Gallery of Photography, LoosenArt Gallery in Rome, The Other Art Fair in London, and The Armory Show in New York. She has been published by Icon mag, Aphro magazine, Picton magazine, Interfashional Magazine, and Glam Essence.

The photography, experimental short films, and performances of Leni Smoragdova often entail concealment of the head of the figure. Particularly, the artist uses what seem like makeshift retro-medieval torture devices. These shivering and macabre metallic pieces, with their sharp edges, are usually followed by the model having their entire head covered in fabric. In performances and films, Leni Smoragdova also uses handmade theatrical masks to seemingly haunt the audience. We will find these figures are in uncomfortable contortions and in a state of suffering or decay, as if they were an object impacted by brute force or the subtle impacts of erosion. 

Often containing monochromatic backgrounds and controlled, fixed lighting; these studio shots reflect a sense of documentation of the figure’s posture and the model as the central tenant of the art, rather than interacting with an environment. These intentions add to the morbidity and horror of the various scenes within the works. These compositions are meant to elicit the figure as a mode of isolation. In contrast, some of Leni Smoragdova’s most fascinating short films, such as Stories of the Interior and  Amphitheatre - the history of interior, she uses environments to dictate the direction of the films, such as a frozen pier or an abandoned warehouse portrayed with a yellow filter with a seated figure being ‘entertained’ by nude, masked figurers.  

Figures Collection V. (pictured above) portrays one of Leni Smoragdova’s signature models, complete with linen-mask and retro-medieval torture devices. She stands nude and arms exposed in a manner similar to an ancient Greek statue, particularly of the goddess Nike from mythology. In pieces such as this one, the artist creates her own narrative using elements of history, be they ancient or medieval, topped off with contemporary post-structuralist inclinations. 

These works in photography, film, and performances by Leni Smoragdova demonstrate an artist who uses non-linear narrative and intentions by applying them with elements of horror and the macabre. Contemporary art, as a result, will be shaped by this non-structuralist and provocative approach to image-making and expression. The despair and sense of juxtaposition of anatomy interprets figures as pieces of meat, sometimes with literal animal carcasses, to convey the lack of individuality institutional structures and digitized media have applied to our social conscious and well-being. This portfolio by Leni Smoragdova represents an extensive study into the annals of psychological disturbance and how we represent such instability, in a raw state, visually through art. Through non-linear enactments of elemental horror, Leni Smoragdova provides a vivid distortion towards our sense of isolation and despair.

https://smoragdova.com