Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/46356
Title: Echoes of Soviet Identity. Visualising Soviet Heritage in Contemporary Art: Post-Soviet Nostalgia and the Interaction of History, Memory, and Identity.
Authors: DROBOT, Natalia 
Advisors: Huycke, David
Késenne, Joannes
Issue Date: 2025
Publisher: Zwartopwit
Abstract: Echoes of Soviet Identity: Visualising Soviet Heritage in Contemporary Art is a doctoral project in the arts by Natalia Drobot that investigates post-Soviet nostalgia—often referred to as Ostalgie—and its influence on the visual culture of former Soviet and socialist countries. The research combines academic inquiry with an extensive body of original artworks, ranging from ceramics and sculpture to photography and installation. Through this artistic research, Drobot examines how contemporary artists—including herself—revisit Soviet symbols, everyday relics, and collective memory. The project engages with themes such as the fate of Lenin monuments, the militarization of daily life, and the aesthetic traces of socialism in domestic objects. Drawing on the writings of Svetlana Boym and other theorists, the work distinguishes between reflective and restorative nostalgia, proposing a visual language to articulate the ongoing tensions between history and identity. The accompanying exhibition offers a personal yet critical interpretation of Soviet heritage, shaped by the artist’s position as a Belarusian emigrant living in Belgium. By combining personal memory, theoretical framing, and artistic experimentation, Echoes of Soviet Identity opens a broader dialogue on how art can mediate historical trauma, longing, and cultural transformation in post-Soviet contexts.
Keywords: Contemporary Art;Post-Soviet Nostalgia;Identity;Memory;Ostalgie
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/46356
Datasets of the publication: D/2025/2451/74
Rights: 2025, Natalia Drobot, University Hasselt. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, mecha-nical, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the artist and publisher. All efforts have been made to determine and acknowledge the copyright ownership of individual works. If any proper acknowledgement has not been made, or permission not received, we invite copyright holders to inform us of the oversight.
Category: T1
Type: Theses and Dissertations
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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