Eurasia. Awakening

Andrey Ostashov • Special Issue, 2019
Bronze, granite. 72?102, h=163 cm

This expressive female figure by Andrey Ostashov serves as an embodiment of Eurasia. Traditions from many lands seem to intertwine within her; while her costume and appearance defy specific national categorization, she leans more heavily toward Asian influences. The young woman is depicted in a relaxed posture, legs crossed before her, with her arms braced behind her back yet with palms turned open toward the sky.
She wears a cropped upper garment with long sleeves, a hip wrap, and decorative garters upon her legs. Her head is crowned by a massive helmet—a hybrid of various Eastern combat headgear. The dominant element is an elongated frontal ornament resembling a long horn, mirrored by similar symmetrical elements extending downward from the rear of the helmet. The piece is adorned with ornamentation, and the neck guards feature figures of horned creatures, likely serving a ritualistic purpose.
The focal point of the composition is a female head with serpentine hair positioned between the heroine’s legs. This is a deliberate reference to Medusa the Gorgon and to a recurring motif in Ostashov’s oeuvre, where snakes serve as an allegory for human thoughts—tangled, unpredictable, and at times dark and dangerous.