Yuri Avvakumov, Olga Barkovskaya, Dmitry Morozov - MANEGE, installation (9-channel audio, 20x60m riding arena/manege), Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Moscow, 2012
video: Tatiana Soshenina
The Manege was built in 1817 as an exerzierhaus or building for military drills and the training of horses. At one time the palace stables were housed there. By 1831 the Manege had been converted in to a cultural centre for various exhibitions, concerts, gatherings and fairs. For many years the Soviet government used the building as a garage for government vehicles. In 1957 it once again became a cultural institution and remains so to this day...
The installation MANEGE, by architect Yuri Avvakumov and sound artists Olga Barkovskaya and Dmitry Morozov, takes the viewer back to the time of the first cavalry parades and training exercises. Inside the Manege are installed a standard 20x60m riding arena filled with 240 cubic metres of sawdust, preserving the sounds and smells of a live stables and a real arena.