MATRYOSHKA 2.0

Yonatan Levi

The name "Matryoshka" (Матрёшка) is derived from the Russian female name "Matryona" (Матрёна), which originates from the Latin word “mater," meaning "mother." Indeed, the famous Matryoshka dolls are designed to resemble kind, healthy, and nurturing mother figures, an expression of continuity, domesticity, fertility, and family values. The project showcases several collapsible Matryoshka dolls with intricate nesting mechanisms designed, 3D-printed, and assembled by the artist. When closed, the dolls appear demure and compact, but when opened, they expand and reveal a variety of Soviet weapons, turning the doll’s iconic concept on its head and subverting its classical attributes. The result is a glaring dissonance between the dolls’ original round and familiar shape and their threatening open state. The duality is further intensified by the dolls’ red color. In Russian, the word used to denote the color "red" is "krasny" (красный), which also means "beautiful and pure." However, as red is widely associated with blood and sacrifice, it also carries the opposite meaning.