The Storyteller

The Anna Nova Gallery presents The Storyteller, a collection of mockumentary videos created by a duo, Russian Ustina Yakovleva and Finnish Sylvia Javén.

Divided geographically, with Ustina residing in Russia and Silvia in Finland, the artists first met on Kotlin Island, which both separates and simultaneously unites their home countries. 

Their collaborative series of mockumentary videos present a story of two pilgrims who find themselves in a tower surrounded by sea. The artists use natural materials they have found to tell the viewer a fanciful memoir-like story, where feelings caused by the journey fuse into a single psychogeographical narration, sharing a tale of personal identity and its boundaries.

The project enjoys support from the Finnish Institute in St. Petersburg.