Morning news
Today is March 14, 2022. Let’s see what’s happened yesterday, the news, the visuals. And an arrested bicycle as a sign of the nonsense reality we live in.
An art installation of Zhang Huan
So what is the news in my simulacrum? Yesterday was a protest day in Russia, and the day when Instagram was finally blocked. First event went smoothly for the authorities, as I’d predicted everyone leaving the subway or walking to the places of previously announced gatherings was arrested and taken to the police for further questioning.
In Moscow people in black uniform and ammunition with “Z” signs on their helmets declared loudly to all the passersby at the Mneznaya square: “Dear townsfolk, you are in a zone of possible meeting, that wasn’t coordinated with authorities. You are potential participants”. After that they restrained everyone.
The square looked strange: a row of the press was photoshooting the special forces as they welcomed and delivered people to autozaks (police buses for transportation). 10-12 policemen per each civilian. And an empty huge square under the grey cold sky behind them. In Saint Petersburg police started with the arrest of the press. First go first, yes.
Altogether about 600 people were arrested in Russia… And one bicycle. Yes, a bicycle! That became the major (sad, but still) joke of the day in Moscow. They took an old lady who arrived at the square on a bicycle. Left the vehicle at the place where it happened, then returned and took it to the autozak as well. The journey of the poor thing was thoroughly documented by the press.
Now to Instagram. All Russian bloggers were expecting the day and were prepared. Some even went online at the X hour, to see how VPN would work. I’ve posted twice now. It works, but with some traffic providers not so much. It caused the shut down of the Internet completely. Mobile internet in that relation is more reliable, but slower. We’ll see how it’ll go now. The funny thing is that I can receive notifications about messages and comments on the iPhone, but can’t open them in the application without VPN. Such a ghost communication: like it is and it isn’t.
I was searching for other news - cultural, fashion, art visuals, anything - that I could share with you this morning. Couldn’t find anything. Only BAFTA Red carpet dresses. I'll pass on that.
So I come with a personal one. I’m preparing documents for my mother’s potencial second citizenship and here are some thoughts that crossed my mind. It’s so weird to look into the family history, in all the old, even antique, documents and question yourself again and again about your own identity. How many lives are in one life - in mine or in my son’s. How strange it feels to collect different passports only to be able to cross the borders and to be accepted not because you are a good person or professional, promising customer/citizen/business owner/tax payer, but because your blood is the right shade of red. Like it will make me somehow better or like it’s an insurance that I don’t have evil plots on my mind.
I remember the work of a Chinese artist Zhang Huan. He used his face as a canvas for three calligraphers, who one after another added the statements, describing him as a human being and as a person and predicted his future according to the ancient Chinese art of reading the face features. In the end the amount of ink was so thick that his skin looked like a lacquered wooden surface. You couldn’t read anything. Beautiful hieroglyphs that probably meant a lot of qualities, after layering so many terms became a solid glossy mirror that even reflected the sun, glared. So after saying a lot, they said nothing about the man.
A digest from my Instagram for March 13th, 2022
9.00am. zakharova_kaetano Good morning 🌞 Government gave us an extra day in Instagram. So here I am posting as usual. @schiaparelli decided to go black and white for their new campaign for The New Schiaparelli by @danielroseberry. I don’t know if that was a reverence to the news agenda or just about beautiful esthetics. I see it and I love what I see, so I don’t care the reasons. It’s again not authentic, we saw the trick with wind and veil many times. But it’s so tragically beautiful that I don’t even care the shade of performance. It’s a fake tragedy, but if I look from the distance, concentrate on the first seconds of recognition, it’s beautiful. Starring @maggiejoymaurer sound design @benbrunnemer #Schiaparelli #artoffashion #fashionasinspiration #morningmood #morninginspiration #goodmorningpost #fashionnotes
4.30pm zakharova_kaetano As a reminder: subscribe on my alternative platforms and on my subscription platform Substack, so not to lose me tomorrow. Instagram will be blocked in Russia. I’ll do everything I can to continue posting here, but can’t promise that my tricks will work. All links are in bio and under bio in highlights “Find me”. Here’s my #finding for today . A hand-stick for reading Torah by @leshabarsukov. #artofjewellery #beautyofjewellery #jewelleryasinspiration #contemporaryjewellery
11.30pm zakharova_kaetano Instagram is blocked now. I post with VPN, i hope the post with be published))). Well, if you read it it was. I remind you that you can subscribe on my Substack (link in bio). Free subscription or paid (you support me anyway, but payments will keep me going with the writings and help me deal with things here in Russia and in Italy). I will continue posting on Instagram (when I can), on Substack you can read my articles and see all the posts you’ve missed and even more visuals. Actually you will receive them on your email. No need to open the site. There’s also Telegram link under the bio in the “Find me” highlight. Plus twitter and Tumblr. So if you want you can always find me. Now I’m swimming back to my sur-reality. Hope to have a sleep for 4,5 hours. #goodnightandsweetdreams #nightmood #fashioneditorial with #TimWalker photography for @thelovemagazine ss2018 Moomin Goth styled by @panosyiapanis hair by @1malcolmedwards makeup @sambryantmakeup @nathanwestling scenography @rhea_thierstein #artofphotography #beautyoffashion #fashionasinspiration #fashionportrait #fairytaletime
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