The Fourth Wall, a project from the NOYD short film studio, was set in Maslenitsa and located within the Nikola-Lenivets art park in the Kaluga region. It was ultimately burned, with reports from TASS noting that two of the four walls concealed hidden elements, a claim supported by Yulia Bychkova, the park’s director. The event marked a bold moment in the park’s ongoing exploration of art, memory, and transformation, drawing attention to the way space can be used to provoke reflection on borders, perception, and time itself.
Officials described the project as truly singular because it employed a design that carried a secret within its very fabric. A round, concealed patch was embedded into two of the four walls, a feature that only revealed its true significance at the moment of burning. The secrecy added a performative layer to the act, transforming the ritual of destruction into a deliberate unveiling that invited viewers to question what lies beneath the surface and how a moment of combustion can become a catalyst for insight rather than merely an end.
Bychkova explained that the wall carried more than a visual secret. A capsule, filled with messages from observers, was also embedded in one of the walls. Each message expressed a personal stance about movement and progress, with contributors signaling how they perceived the project as a barrier or as a spur to advance. The act of placing messages inside the wall created a dialogue between the audience and the artwork, long after the fire had taken its initial form, underscoring the enduring impact of the installation on viewers and participants alike.
When the flames took hold, a carefully arranged circle of dead wood and branches curled and burned along the two affected walls. The resulting negative space—the void—grew as the circle consumed its material, emphasizing the interplay between presence and absence, creation and erasure. The burning did not merely erase the object; it created a new field of interpretation where observers could contemplate how form can disappear while meaning remains, inviting a deeper engagement with the concept of impermanence in contemporary art.
Earlier reports noted the Maslenitsa tradition of burning an art object as part of the celebration, with the event scheduled for February 25 at Nikola-Lenivets park in the Kaluga region. Architect Igor Aparin described the ritual as a symbolic act that signifies the destruction of borders, both external and internal, a sentiment that aligns with the project’s aim to challenge fixed boundaries and invite viewers to rethink limits—whether they are cultural, personal, or perceptual. The Burning of the Fourth Wall thus stood as a PSA of sorts for the community, a visual statement about renewal, transformation, and the power of collective imagination to redefine space and identity in the arts scene.