2023

The conditional plot of the image resembles a map of the complex transport structure of the future. If we take into account that the architectural image of the Southern River Station resembles a ship, then the cafe space on the second floor, with its panoramic windows and a view of the Moscow River, is associated with the captain's bridge of this ship, in front of which there is an open patio-deck. Therefore, it is logical that it is on this bridge that the futuristic navigation pattern is located, as if inviting the viewer to imagine himself as a captain or navigator, laying the route. Also, the circle segment in the image is associated with the dynamics of modern turbines and electric motor rotors. And, thanks to this association, this route scheme, or map, turns in our imagination into units and aggregates of a fantastic liner, the silhouette of which can be recognized in a complex interweaving of lines. In the background, behind this "liner", a decorative image of the starry sky can be seen. This, on the one hand, is also an image of the ancient symbol of the orientation of sailors in space, on the other hand, it is an allusion to the first building of the river station by the architect Roman Heeger, who also used elements in the form of stars as a reference to the image of the southern night sky. Thus, the painting plays on the double meaning of its name "Navigation": it is the determination of location, speed and direction, on the one hand, and seafaring and shipping as such on the other hand. The imagery of the work is built around the aesthetics of technological development.