Published to accompany the exhibition The ticket is for today by Moscow-based artist Anna Parkina at Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, 20 September – 6 November 2010. The ticket is for today consists of two parts: a display of book pages, and a newly commissioned film.

The first section of the exhibition shows a decomposed adaptation and archival rendering of Parkina’s new book Biryulevo. Taking its name from a suburb located south of Moscow, which is surrounded by rumours for its activities involving ‘criminal and socially undetermined interests’, and as a ‘pathogenic zone’ that contains infectious agents, the book attempts to portray life in a regional town or peripheral district that embodies political and cultural inscrutability and ambiguity.

For her new video, instead of working with actors the artist has chosen to present un-staged shots of people in real situations. By juxtaposing her footage with musical clips, Parkina references the language of advertising and attempts to ‘go beyond the understanding and decoding of common reality’ towards a revolution in the everyday, and the creation of a parallel peripheral world.

Included is an interview with the artist by Andrew Hunt.