Peter Belyi’s Danger Zone was last realized by Belyi at Modus R., Russian Formalism Today (Art Basel Miami, 2006).

Building a model is usually synonymous with the ideas of progress and creation. While modeling is one of the most important elements of utopian periods, Danger Zone does not address the future. It addresses the past and specifically, the 1970’s – a decade of mass housing construction in the Soviet Union and the last gasp of utopian impulses. The framework of apartment blocks creates the impression of a fragile construction, which is either still awaiting completion or has deliberately been left to crumble. It is up to the viewer to guess what is the reason for this destruction – war, neglect or a combination of both. (Olesya Turkina)

Although the artist deals with a period of Soviet history, one cannot avoid bringing the present into the equation – our consciousness is exposed daily to images of destruction from war zones, suicide bombers and cultures on the verge of collapse. In Danger Zone the demolished architectural forms become symbols of power, domination and hopelessness.