GEORGIJ MELNIKOV

FOUL PROPHET RACE – 2022/2023 

exploration of the future prediction capabilities of a foul egg, political climate, social movement and visible or invisible borders. by Georgij Melnikov

In 2022 I was Invited to participate in the International Project “On the Road Again” to the Citiy of Budapest. The theme of our short-term Residency Project was Danube and Transnational Space. In that Year Nationalism was allready on the rise due to corona lockdowns and bad economy. The Question of Border Integrity and National Pride was even more supercharged by the war in Ukraine. The rhetoric on the political stages of the world became harsh to say the least. 

Political movements sometimes behave like a strong current that drag you 100 meters down the river stream without you even realizing that you came so far from the place you have entered the water. If you follow the stream you can´t even feel the movement only when you start trying to swim back you realize what power the river carries. In this time of uncertainty, I wanted to ask a foul Egg what the political future of my beloved Europe may be, to determine it, I invented the Foul Prophet Race. 

A Foul egg would swim with the stream of the Danube, through a 10-meter racetrack, 27 times, competing for the 27 EU Member states. During each run it would carry a miniature flag of the respective EU state, which was cho sen at random and the current of the Danube at that moment decided the speed of the run. The prediction of the foul prophet (aka. A 4 month after expiration date, egg) is that in the next half year the EU member states will develop right-wing policies according to the position on the race ranking, first being most right wing. 

The first place on the ranking goes to the egg the finishes the track in shortest time. The Race happened on the 11 October 2022, on the Danube FOUL PROPHET RACE Performance 2022 Budapest Danube River River in Budapest FOUL PROPHET RACE Austrias Run, place nr. 6 in the ranking, good job! 

The exhibition Space in Budapest was quite large and so to fill it up in the tradition of the Nationalists Spectacle “Brot und Spiele” I made the large scale Installation “River of Eggs” consisting of 27 Egg Shaped giant Ballons. The first time I worked with ready-mades to create a large-scale space inter vention. At the end of it I put the Foul Egg under a Cheese Cover because it looked nice, and the foul prophet began to emit an unpleasant Odor. Next to it was a screen where you could see the recording of the World’s first Foul Prophet Race. 

The Video became not as spectacular as I was imagining it would be. Maybe the next race will be sponsored by red bull and the egg will go down a wild mountain creek. The original Foul Prophet didn´t made it to the follow up museum show in Vienna at the Künstlerhaus. After 10 months past expiration date and extensive unrefrigerated traveling, the egg changed. 

Thinking of exhibiting it in its current state, I felt sorry for the staff that would have to endure its further decomposition smell for three Months of the Exhibition. Instead, I made the Sculpture Leftovers reflecting on the meaning of borders the definition of being inside vs outside and the fragility of social structures. At the same time, it is a musealisation of the foul prophet race performance artifacts. 

The 27 miniature Flags that were attached to the egg during its transition through the racetrack. Most of the paper flags are blurred due to the contact with water. A further deconstruction of the idea of national differences and questioning of the lon gevity of such ideas as national states and borders. 

 Mag. Art. Georgij Melnikov Artist Statment

Born 24.07.1988 in Moscow, Lives and works in Vienna, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna as Mag. Art. In the Fine Arts Painting Department (2006-2013), and studied ceramics at University of Applied Arts Vienna (2013-2018) Melnikov had many Solo Exhibitions and Group Exhibitions around the world including, Austria, Italy, Germany, Russia, USA and China. In the year 2023 he participated in two Museum exhibitions in Vienna “On the road again” at the Künstlerhaus and “Über das Neue” at the Belveder 21. He works since 2019 with the established Gallery Lisi Hämmerle in Bregenz, AT, where he had a second solo show in 2022. Starting in the year 2023 and until 2025 he frequently visited China where he had several Solo and Group Exhibitions in the Cities Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Jingdezhen. He Also Participated in the the Taoxichuan Art Residency in Longquan and Jingdezhen in the year 2024 and 2025. Upon the invitation of the curator Feng Boyi he was invited to participate in the International museum Group exhibition “Matter:Energy Bound” where he presented one of his biggest Sculptural installation pieces in public Space titled “Matter and Time”.

As an artist he works in the media of ceramics, sculptures, installations, graphics and performances. He develops both metaphysical and physical environments or Artefacts to tell emotional and intellectual stories. In doing so, Melnikov creates his own visual and theoretical language, which is in itself a constantly growing metaphorical vocabulary. He works with different topics reflecting on personal and societal issues. He has reoccurring Themes such as Shell People, Life Buoys, Black Water, Magical Eggs, Forgotten Potatoes, etc.. and continues to create work series around them using different forms of expression. 

Mag. Art. Georgij Melnikov – Künstlerstatement

Geboren am 24.07.1988 in Moskau, lebt und arbeitet in Wien. Er studierte Malerei an der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien (2006–2013), wo er den Abschluss Mag. Art. erwarb, und anschließend Keramik an der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (2013–2018). Melnikov realisierte zahlreiche Einzel- und Gruppenausstellungen weltweit, u. a. in Österreich, Italien, Deutschland, Russland, den USA und China. Im Jahr 2023 war er in zwei musealen Ausstellungen in Wien vertreten: „On the Road Again“ im Künstlerhaus sowie „Über das Neue“ im Belvedere 21. Seit 2019 arbeitet er mit der Galerie Lisi Hämmerle in Bregenz zusammen, wo er 2022 seine zweite Einzelausstellung zeigte. Von 2023 bis 2025 hielt er sich regelmäßig in China auf und präsentierte dort mehrere Einzel- und Gruppenausstellungen in Hangzhou, Shenzhen und Jingdezhen. Zudem nahm er 2024 und 2025 an der Taoxichuan Keramik Art Residency in Longquan und Jingdezhen teil. Auf Einladung des Kurators Feng Boyi beteiligte er sich an der internationalen Museumsgruppenausstellung „Matter: Energy Bound“, in deren Rahmen er eine seiner größten skulpturalen Installationen im öffentlichen Raum unter dem Titel „Matter and Time“ präsentierte.

Als Künstler arbeitet Melnikov mit den Medien Keramik, Skulptur, Installation, Grafik und Performance. Er entwickelt sowohl metaphysische als auch physische Umgebungen und Artefakte, um emotionale und intellektuelle Erzählungen zu entfalten. Dabei schafft er eine eigene visuelle und theoretische Sprache, die als stetig wachsendes metaphorisches Vokabular verstanden werden kann. Seine Arbeiten kreisen um persönliche und gesellschaftliche Fragestellungen und greifen wiederkehrende Motive wie „Shell People“, Rettungsringe, Schwarzes Wasser, Magische Eier oder Vergessene Kartoffeln auf, zu denen er fortlaufend Werkserien in unterschiedlichen Ausdrucksformen entwickelt.