Andropov’s Ears Intervention and performance in public space

This intervention refers to the concrete arches commonly known as `Andropov’s Ears` which were situated at the magnificent socialist boulevard where all the official parades used to pass by. Today the image has changed radically. The arches have been destroyed after the fall of the Soviet empire and while the square in front of it is renovated, underneath the street level a big pile of rubble still remains. It is visible by passing through a huge underground passage, part of the modernist socialist urban planning, which today looks quite rundown but is still in use. But has the image of the space really changed by only demolishing the arches? I wanted to point at the collective memory connected to that place. What if Andropov was still listening there? With my intervention I wanted to create an after image of the past. The reincarnation of the former Soviet structure was shaped with plastic bottles, a typical waste product of contemporary consumerism.

Done