Appearance is downgraded, and this means that the manifestation of (individual) self is to be abandoned however possible. In the Vedas the idea of primordial unity justifies rejecting the everyday world, for the latter is conceived to be a ‘veil of Maya’, mere illusion which distracts one from the more fundamental ‘reality’. 2 In other words, Ponomarev’s ocean signifies the idea of an all-encompassing non-individuated reality that underlies appearances, which subtends seemingly discrete entities, gathering them together in its ontological web. As with the previous example, its concept is that of the primordial interconnectedness of all things. He also refers to the Upanishads, and the metaphor that is Indra’s Net. 1 This translates as ‘ocean’ but carries an extra sense: oneness or totality. When asked about the issue of symbolism, the artist often invokes concepts and terminology from Eastern metaphysics – such as he old Mongolian word ‘dalai’.
However, the consistent references to water have more than biographical significance. Of course, his previous employment as a nautical engineer, submariner and merchant-seaman bears upon this fact. The ocean has been called the principle dramatis persona of Ponomarev’s oeuvre. His practice is at once metaphysical and intensely material.
His works forge lived connections between naval officers and esoteric philosophy, the Italian renaissance and torpedoes, the romantic landscape and geopolitical conflict over natural resources. Moreover, his practice effects powerful and surprising conjunctions between aspects of cultural and natural life that are frequently, ostensibly, separate. Such tales raise the question – Why? It is here that the true adventure begins, for Ponomarev’s art invites meditation on the relationship between illusion/fiction and ‘reality’, the utility of art, and the shifting tides of personal and cultural history. Or, how he convinced the commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet to marshal ships and a smoke screen in order to make a real island disappear. All of these voyages imply unbelievable stories: about how the artist managed to persuade an admiral to allow him to paint an operational nuclear submarine with colourful markings. The works in this exhibition issue from journeys undertaken by Ponomarev: to the Arctic, to the bottom of the ocean, and while tracking the 60 th latitude of the Atlantic onboard a scientific research ship.
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