Aleksey Shchigalev was born in the village of Ust'-Chernaya, Perm Krai. He graduated from Ural Federal University with a degree in metallurgical machinery and equipment. He began as a graffiti artist. In 2014, together with other street artists, he opened an artists run space. From 2018 to 2020, he studied at the I. Bakstein Institute of Contemporary Art. Since 2023 he lives and works in Paris, France.
Working with local memory, personal and "found" archives, and exploring the relationship between landscape change and social transformation is a special focus of the artist's practice. He works in different genres and techniques: from painting, graphics and photo collage to video-art and site-specific installations.
In paintings based on vernacular photos and collages made from these photos, Shchigalev uses framing and blurring. In doing so, he rejects the accuracy that photography carries and gradually purifies the depicted real and fantasy spaces, thereby controlling the viewer's gaze and prompting his criticism. The artist analyses his own point of view as well, documenting real events he has witnessed and the fantasies that emerged as a result of their processing.
Shchigalev often employs graphic techniques, works with technical documentation (maps, drawings) and engineering backgrounds. One of Aleksey's techniques is to "translate" the map into a graphic representation, which emphasises the link that the legally certified representation of space has with real space and time.
Working with local memory, personal and "found" archives, and exploring the relationship between landscape change and social transformation is a special focus of the artist's practice. He works in different genres and techniques: from painting, graphics and photo collage to video-art and site-specific installations.
In paintings based on vernacular photos and collages made from these photos, Shchigalev uses framing and blurring. In doing so, he rejects the accuracy that photography carries and gradually purifies the depicted real and fantasy spaces, thereby controlling the viewer's gaze and prompting his criticism. The artist analyses his own point of view as well, documenting real events he has witnessed and the fantasies that emerged as a result of their processing.
Shchigalev often employs graphic techniques, works with technical documentation (maps, drawings) and engineering backgrounds. One of Aleksey's techniques is to "translate" the map into a graphic representation, which emphasises the link that the legally certified representation of space has with real space and time.