Boys room II, 2022

Polina Rukavichkina is a Moscow-based artist whose work explores collective trauma, vulnerability, and identity. In her major project Melting Armour, showcased at the ART4 Museum (2024), she uses textile installations and photography to deconstruct "protective shells," symbolizing the softening of masculine defenses. Her practice, including projects like Luty and Pale Shelters, blends documentary and fictional narratives to examine emotional and social boundaries. Recognized as a 2022 Leica Oskar Barnack Award nominee, her work continues to challenge the limits between the private and public sphere.