softpower inflatable installation redefines the barricade
SoftPower is a land art installation by artist Gregory Orekhov that references the form and arrangement of sandbags, objects traditionally associated with conflict zones and disaster response. In their conventional use, sandbags function as barriers, embodying urgency, protection, and resistance. In this work, the familiar form is maintained, but the material qualities are altered. Air replaces sand, and the functional weight is removed.
The installation consists of inflated, pillow-like elements stacked into a circular arrangement. Rather than creating a defensive barricade, the configuration defines an enclosed yet accessible space intended for pause and reflection. The transformation of the sandbag motif from a tool of protection to a spatial framework repositions its meaning within a cultural and artistic context.
all images by Nikita Subbotin
Gregory Orekhov’s Sandbag Installation Explores Soft Power
Installed in France, the project engages with the country’s historical role in shaping global cultural influence through non-military means, aligning with the broader notion of ‘soft power.’ In this context, the work operates as a temporary architectural gesture that shifts emphasis from defense against external threats to the preservation of cultural and intellectual values.
SoftPower by artist Gregory Orekhov can be read as a spatial study in material reinterpretation, symbolic transformation, and the capacity of art to reframe objects associated with conflict into forms that suggest openness, concentration, and non-aggressive resilience.
inflated forms replace the weight of sand
a circle of stillness in place of a barricade