Arseny Zhilyaev
Polite Guests From the Future Costume


This work was conceived by Zhilyaev as part of the M.I.R.: Polite Guests from the Future exhibition. This iteration of the imagined Museum of Russian History (M.I.R.) is seen from a distant future standpoint. The Russian word ‘mir’ means both peace as well as ‘the world’, and is also the name of the first space station to ever orbit earth. In this Museum’s collection of histories and artifacts which depict the rise and eventual dominance of Russian Cosmic Federation over the charted Cosmos, central is this signature uniform of the cosmic militia. Fashioned in stellar camouflage and armed with a translucent replica of the infamous Kalashnikov rifle, this ensemble finds its roots in the ‘polite politics’ of Russia in the twenty first century.