Hidden places, MaxArt Foundation, Moscow, Russia, 2021.
At the group exhibition *"Hidden Places"*, held in the former Soviet secret bunker *"Bunker 703"*—declassified just a year before the show—Andrey Berger presented three metal panels. The surfaces of the works, covered in layers of rust, reveal digital traces upon closer inspection—graphic elements applied over the metal. This technique creates a visual metaphor for the transition between the material and the digital.
The works engage with the bunker’s space in two ways: on one hand, their rusted texture resonates with the industrial aesthetic of the space, while on the other, the digital elements contrast with the rough concrete architecture. This juxtaposition evokes the idea of *"archeology of the future"*—as if the viewer has discovered artifacts from the digital age that have undergone natural decay.
Within the context of the exhibition, which explores liminal states of reality, Berger’s works occupy an intermediate position—between physical materiality and virtual layers, between the history of the place and contemporary artistic practices.