The rapid pace of modern market economy development has plunged humanity into a state of critical acceleration of the concept of «cuteness». The endearment response, originally evolved to nurture vulnerable offspring, has been repurposed over millennia now exploited to stimulate overconsumption through adorable mascots and plush toys. The process is now irreversible. To dismantle the cult of Cuteness and break free from its shackles, one must rupture through it.

tsvelyy_soup's works radiate sincerity, edging so close to childlike doodles that they make no attempt to demand attention. The gallery, hung with her pieces, bears no resemblance to a traditional exhibition space—instead, it feels like a teenager’s bedroom, chaotically plastered with hastily drawn sketches.

The sound in the Gao Performance manifests as a distorted, sped-beyond-recognition audio collage: popular music shards, Vocaloid voices, advertising jingles, plush toy sounds, and other elements of cute pop culture.

The performers are individuals deeply immersed in animegao kigurumi culture. Working with six audio tracks, the performers synthesize unique sonic compositions in real time from provided sound banks. Outside of musical performances, the dolls roam the exhibition like any other visitors — interacting with each other and bystanders, observing artworks, even running around playing hopscotch.

The exhibition took place within augallery___, opening on June 5th and ran for one week.

tsvelyy_soup, cute/acc at augallery___
tsvelyy soup + raremotherfucker
Curator: Nikhat Karaev
Performers: Lyn Doll, Mary Erem
Gallery team: Elizaveta Gellert, Larion Tareev, Valeria Vazyukina
Exhibition installation: Nikhat Karaev, Sofia Zalesskaya, Elizaveta Gellert, Andrey Kislov Assistance in organizing sound performance: Oleg Olzhabaev, Fyodor Ignatenkov

Photographer: Anastasia Chernysheva
Operator: Masha Hertz
Project Curator (HSE): Evgeny Voronovsky

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