Sergey Bratkov / Сергій Братков

2002

Photography, 5 x ( 90 x 60 cm).
Materials:

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp / Collection Flemish Community (Inv. no. BK007490).

The title of the series *Fayur-Soyuz* refers to a company based in the tiny Caucasion region of Ossetia known for producing Russia’s cheapest brand of vodka, and the work was conceived in parallel with an actual advertising campaign for the company: in Bratkov’s parodic take on the genre, local vodka distributors pose inside a storage room alongside the campaign’s leading lady, the former clad in military outfits, the latter sporting a glamorous red dress. This series is a good example of Bratkov's suspicion towards clichés and tropes, which are used to manipulate an audience; in this case, the propaganda-like language of advertising and mass media.