Russian Pavilion

Fair Enough

This iteration of the Russian Pavilion has its tongue stuffed firmly in its cheek. Brash, irreverent and with a straight (if brightly painted) face, the Fair Enough expo of urban ideas takes on the commercial trade fair as a 'universal typology' with a Brass Eye-like bite of satire.

The only clue to its inspiration is a photomontage in the entrance hall of a 'typical' expo, depicting a typically frenetic yet banal edge-of-town 'congress centre', overtaken by a hive of competing stalls and kiosks. At the entrance hall of Fair Enough, visitors are greeted and lanyarded by a crew of luridly uniformed (and uniformly bouncy), air-steward-like assistants, in whose sunny disposition there is no small trace of irony. On offer: a surfeit of really rather good ideas for the city, through a number of provocative propositions.

This Russian Pavilion is transformed into a trade show - 'the ultimate manifestation of modernity'. Photo Credit: Andrea Avezzù / La Biennale Di Venezia

There's the Prefab Corporation, whose conglomerate title nevertheless takes into account contemporary issues on material lifespans and upcycling. Or the neoliberal, equity-based 'Financial Solutions', using private investment to preserve heritage monuments.

The curators of Fair Enough at Moscow's Strelka Institute suggest that the international trade fair is 'the ultimate manifestation of modernity'. Here for sale are urban ideas gleaned from the past century, revised through contemporary concerns. Down to the commercial graphic details on its wall panels, Fair Enough comes together as a pitch-perfect and hysterical production.