Underground art for real adventurers

An exhibition of literally underground art has taken place in one of the deserted underground reservoirs in the Russian capital.

ґAptly entitled Real Underground, the display assembled works featuring the catacombs of Moscow and other cities, Metro tunnels, cellars, underground rivers and hidden paths.

The drawings on display created by two self-taught young Moscow artists is what they mostly saw their own eyes during their risky underground trips.

"Drawing is a perfect opportunity to mirror the underground world exactly the way you like it. And in our city it is quite impressive indeed," one of them, nicknamed Hatever, said.

The venue was kept in secret, with individual invitations sent only to those who needed guidance, while all others with the sense of "underground reality" were simply given the whereabouts.

One of the organizers of the secretive exhibition was an art lover who knows Moscow`s underground world like the back of his hand, digger Max, aka Nikodimych.

He explained that the underground reservoir which hosted the exhibition was chosen for several reasons. But first and foremost, because it does not belong to anybody.

"It was built in Soviet times and wasn`t used since then. Given that our exhibition is illegal, it was important for us. Besides, the chosen venue is not easy to find. Of course, we could have hosted this exhibition in a deserted passage somewhere in the Moscow Metro, at a depth of 80 meters, but then only some 15 people would have been able to make it, while this venue is accessible to anybody who is not afraid of darkness and doesn`t suffer from claustrophobia. It`s impossible to get lost here, there are no junctions, turn-outs whatsoever, while the chance of getting injured is no greater than in your stairway."

He said that those who managed to come and see Real Underground were blown away by the exhibition.

"It has left nobody indifferent. Me, I didn`t even expect it myself. People would come to me and to the girls, artists, thanking us for what we have done, absolutely thrilled," Nikodimych recalled.

sections: Culture