Zorikto Dorzhiev

The Seventh BRICS Summit (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa) was held from 8th of July 2015, in Ufa, the Russian Federation. In the evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a banquet dinner of which the guests included Chinese President Xi Jin Ping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma. Meanwhile, the solo exhibition of established Mongolian Russian artist, Zorikto Dorzhiev, was especially organized for the evening event.

With its extraordinary dimension, “Watch” was situated behind Putin, in the center of the banquet hall, as the main theme of the entire party. Looking into the painting, viewers can see five commanders meeting on horseback with the boundless Siberian steppe as background. One guard on duty is watching the distant place, while his eyes seem to look out of the painting and into the viewers’ time and space. The painting was finished in 2006. Its depth and symbolic meaning created dialogues between itself and the BRICS leaders that night. This historical moment transformed “Watch” from an artwork to an archive in the stream of Times.

Zorikto Dorzhiev (1976- ) was born in Buryatia. With his depiction on nomadic history, narrative of steppe legends, and mission to restore cultural legacy, Dorzhiev is one of the most influential artists from Siberia.

Zorikto Dorzhiev