Lada Nakonechna. “Postcards (Made in…)”. 2010 — present. Paper, graphite pencil, working time. 64 × 46 cm

Job Description

Since 2010, in various countries, Lada Nakonechna creates a “postcard” during one working day — a drawing that reproduces the format of a postcard and copies a popular local landscape, the photo of which is found on the internet. The artist signs where exactly the landscape is depicted — the words “Made in” refer to the label on any product. She also adds the “price” of her work, which equals the average cost of one working day of a worker in the respective country. For example, in Ukraine, at the time of 2010, this was equivalent to 14.40 euros, and in Germany — 232 euros. 

In this way, the artist addresses the analysis of the landscape, transformed into a kitschy mass-produced postcard for tourists, and what lies behind this image. It is also a question of the geopolitical and economic distribution of power and influence, the use of resources and labor in some countries and regions for the enrichment of others. The subtle parody of the postcard format sets mixed feelings: the picturesque landscape depicted on them refers to the romantic landscape and the practice of admiration through contemplation. But the postcard itself is only a miniature copy of both the landscape itself and the experience of its contemplation. It refers to an era when the modern practice of authoritative contemplation of nature by humans as a resource acquired industrial scales — exploitation and mass reproduction of images. Instead, Nakonechna’s “Postcards” offer to go beyond ordinary contemplation and move into a critical mode of thinking.