Unus Safardiar traces his broad interests in art and culture, in part, to his upbringing in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and to his time at the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg[1]. He began his professional career in 1994 with artwork through architecture, becoming involved in a large project with Moscow City[2] where he designed the interior and exterior for several structures. During this time, Safardiar wanted to introduce elements of modern and contemporary sculpture into mainstream architecture.
In 1996-99, he focused primarily on contemporary and performance art, staging Diamond Age at Union Chapel in London and Three Tones of Food in One Go in Shoreditch London[3]. Three Tones of Food in One Go was a mixed genre piece in which a feast, prepared by 40 chefs, was consumed by over 1000 visitors. The feast’s leftovers were formed by Safardiar into a sculpture, encapsulating them within a thick layer of transparent acrylic. The event, according to the Guardian newspaper, was acclaimed as 'The best performance of the year'. This transition, from architecture to performance art, occurred for a variety of reasons, but the wish to explore art with more creative freedom away from the disciplined field of architecture, was cited by Safardiar as his main motivation.
In the following years, Safardiar would transition from performance art to marble sculpture, travelling to Petra Santa and Carrara in Italy[4]. In the meantime, he would produce several exhibitions in various locations including the US, Great Britain and Russia.
In 2007, Safardiar produced The Conquest of Siberia[5], which is to this day his largest free-standing sculpture. It was commissioned by the city of Novosibirsk, the capital of the Siberian region of Russia. In the piece we are shown the Cossack ataman warrior Yermack Timofeyevich[6] on horseback, encountering a folkloric five-legged wolf. Safardiar aimed to depict Yermack's timeless legacy of a warrior and leader in exploration.
Safardiar's piece Lens was exhibited by Sotheby's at Chatsworth House in 2012[7]. In the same year, he produced several more exhibitions, most notable of which was his series of public sculptures: Gate for Multiple Dimensions and Rubies which he exhibited in Regents Park[8], London.
In 2016, Safardiar completed and exhibited Capsular, Search for Immortality in the Federation Tower in Moscow Russia[9] which remains the tallest building in Europe. Since then, he has worked on many new projects, mostly experimenting with kinetic sculpture.
- ^ Imperial Academy of Arts. http://www.artsacademy.ru/.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Moscow International Business Center. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_International_Business_Center.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|last1=has generic name (help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Shoreditch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoreditch.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Pietrasanta. "Carrara in Italy". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietrasanta.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|url=(help) - ^ Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport. "The Conquest of Siberia". http://siberianwonders.com/2011/04/photo-conquest-of-siberia-cossack-yermak-sculpture-at-novosibirsk-tolmachevo-airport/.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|url=(help) - ^ Yermak_Timofeyevich. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yermak_Timofeyevich.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Sotheby's at Chatsworth House. https://www.sothebys.com/en/museums/chatsworth-house.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Regents Park. https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Federation Tower in Moscow. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/federation-tower/118.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help)