Change is one thing… Evolution is another.

Fresh from exhibits at The Hermitage in St. Petersburg and Shift in Basel and headed to opening an annex in Berlin and an excursion to the Arctic Circle – Dam, Stuhltrager Galley has grown wings and evolved.

A new exhibit explores the internal and external conflicts in following one’s own path.

Camera opens on closed curtain. There’s noise of preparation and anticipation. Black satin hands pull back the red velvet. Cue Music. Action: Rapid flashing pans to panting and smoking.

“Mishka”, the latest film by Yuliya Lanina, opens in onto a debaucherious stage where characters are intent on redefining themselves. Lanina’s world of animatronic actors and actresses embody sexuality, indulgence, defiance, wit, confidence, introspection and humor that enrapture viewers to want to watch. The cast, a group of robotic children’s toys employed and constructed by Lanina, are immediately identifiable with conventions and confrontations of struggling to balance one’s place in the world with the place one sees him/herself. Characters draw parallels to the stories splashed across headlines, whispered among circles of friends, feuded over family dinner tables and debated on personal levels in the minds of us all.

Created entirely by the artist – from characters to storyline, stages, music, editing and choreography – Lanina’s videos are byproducts of growing up with likes of Paul McCarthy, Madonna and Brett Eason Ellis as much as Sid and Marty Krofft, Tim Burton or Roald Dahl.

In her first work incorporating animatronic sculptures, the aptly titled “Play With Me”, Lanina’s dark dramedy takes a page from Ed Wood’s ability to be brilliantly – and unconsciously – endearing. Omnipresent reminders let the audience know they are looking directly through an artist’s uncensored, honest, consuming passionate vision. Watching combines the voyeurism of spying on a child playing in their room over a webcam with the glee of attending a show where the performance was so sincere everyone in the audience felt like a V.I.P.

After formally adding Lanina to their gallery, Dam, Stuhltrager introduces her films, stage sets and animatonic sculpture in “Scene One”.