«And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.» The First Book of Moses, called Genesis 1:2. 2011. Acrylic, tempera on canvas, object, 205x333 cm | 
«Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?» Matthew 6:31. 2010–2011. Acrylic, tempera on canvas, object, 205x333 cm | 
«And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain...» Matthew 5:1. 2011. Acrylic, tempera on canvas, object, 205x333 cm | | The entire exposition |
| Bible Post was originally conceived as an attempt to interpret and understand the biblical texts via a dramaturgic structure. The example of the church sermon suggested the method of analogy or applying the holy texts to various realities, phenomena and situations in life. That is why a combination or comparison of the given and the moral imperative always arises. It is this combination which leads to what might be called the "levels of understanding."
In the Bible, we encounter Epistles and Good News. To our minds, the Holy Scriptures are a form of postal communication from the celestial forces. This explains the name of the project – Bible Post. The format of the vehicle of the text was carefully chosen. The messages from on high are the pages of the Bible, turned into a paper airplane or a dove, which, in the traditional iconography, symbolises the Holy Spirit – the messenger of God or "celestial postman."
Illuminated manuscripts developed as an art form in the Middle Ages. In parallel to this, the mystery play appeared in theatrical art. The borderline between illuminations and drama, where the Holy Scriptures are the basis or the narrative, is the place where the structure of the Bible Post project was formed.
The texts and books of the Old and New Testaments are, of course, too wide and profound in scope to possibly fit inside one project. The artist has, therefore, selected what he considers to be the key excerpts and episodes, which lie at the heart of the content of Bible Post. All subjects or mise- en-scènes, although only a small part, manage to reflect the content of the Holy Scriptures from the beginning (The First Book of Moses) to the end (The Revelation of St John the Divine or Apocalypse).
In this way, the entire dramaturgy of the project slots into the format of the Holy Scriptures, covering all significant epistles and events, which are, in turn, represented in the form of assemblages and objects. The leading role is played by the text – only not as a commentary or a space for illustration, but as a subject, a personage, the main hero of the play, which, through its presence in various subjects and situations is, at the same time, the main dramatis persona and message. In turn, the viewer is directly included in this process and unwittingly addresses the original source (the Bible itself), correctly reading the subject of the representation and articulating the content and meaning of the books of the Old and New Testaments. This is the ultimate aim and task of the Bible Post project.
Yury Shabelnikov
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