Sergey Bratkov / Сергій Братков

2002

Video, 00:05:51 min.
Materials: dvd

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp / Collection Flemish Community (Inv. no. BK007489).

Like his photos, Bratkov's films are always sharp and almost painfully realistic. In the dramatically titled video Life is Pain, Bratkov filmed a Ukrainian prostitute who occasionally makes some extra cash as a chanteuse in a nightclub; her gut-wrenching repertory, bizarre make-up trompe-l’oeuil skin-colored shirt unite to exclaim the basic truth of her act – that life is pain indeed.

 

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The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

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