A Moscow-based artist launches Instagram’s first AR exhibition

You can now visit Moscow’s first augmented reality exhibition with a simple swipe on Instagram.

Hyperborea, the project of Ukraine-born and Moscow-based artist Nichola Koshkosh, uses Instagram filters to place paintings in your immediate surroundings. With the ongoing pandemic, the filters were partly made as a form of escapism — to help users experience their surroundings in new and creative ways.

The project is named after a Greek mythical land untouched by war or disease — a place that is particularly enticing during a pandemic. If the original Hyperborea is out of reach, Koshkosh’s exhibition can be accessed anywhere in the world.

Out of the 15 oil and spray paintings available as filters, some works — such as Jacob & Angel and A.L.L. Asura — are interpretations of ancient myths, while others — such as Emo Music and Procrastination — are fantastic, trippy takes on modern life. A graduate of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv, Koshkosh’s art also features references to Biblical scenes, Christian icons, halos, mixing them with graffiti and tattoo visuals, and a bold, bright colour palette.

Koshkosh came to painting via graffiti art, which he’s been making since the age of 14, and tattoo art, which has helped him keep afloat after moving to Moscow.

Visit @nicholakoshkosh to access and use the AR filters.

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A post shared by Koshkosh (@nicholakoshkosh) on Aug 14, 2017 at 8:57am PDT