Carnivalesque is a characteristic theme for Shokhov's art practice: an inverted world, where social norms are temporarily abandoned, a kingdom of freedom and playfulness that aims to revitalize society and relieve socio-political stress. In the modern world, we have essentially lost the carnival essence of the past, and queer and drag are probably the brightest sparks of that tradition in "our alternate Dark Age" of pandemic and ideological scuffles against one another in politics.

In Nikita's work, we can see the quality of contemporary artisanship. It used to be meticulously handicraft in the Middle Ages, and now artists use cutting-edge visual tools such as immersive environments in real-time 3D engines and volumetric video holograms. In the Spring/Break Art Show installation, Nikita challenges it further, imagining augmented reality into a physical object.

Video installation DRAGZINA is a large "picture" where, instead of a painting, we see a translucent mirror in a massive golden Barocco-like frame, with a video illuminating through it. In the mirror reflection, we see ourselves inside the interior and holographic characters, creating the illusion of their presence in the same room. The 12-minute video shows eight drag artists from Moscow with their original performances. 

Nikita invited Masha Vorslav, the Russian drag & gender play community leader and a creator of the magazine Dragzina, to collaborate on the scene as a part of his interdisciplinary project ORIENTATION DEVICE.  In this project, a series of AR applications allow viewers to get a holographic performance at home. Here, for the Spring/Break Art Show, Nikita deliberately moves away from this virtual format and creates a physical object, which mimics a regular mirror and could be used as decorative and utilitarian.

According to Masha Vorslav, "Drag is a special case of heresy. As long as a binary gender system and heteronormativity dominate society, there will always be a place for drag. Drag makes fun of the rules of a binary society in which a person can play only one of the clearly defined roles: female or male. At the same time, a person cannot choose it: the gender role is defined based on primary sexual attributes. Drag is the art and practice of impersonation. Anyone can pretend to be anyone under the guise of a 'drag artist.' There is no gender in drag; all gender traits can be mixed in one character and used as desired. Does society like it? Of course, not. Here we see parallels between drag and heresy." 

Nikita Shokhov comments: "The purpose of ORIENTATION DEVICE AR project and DRAGZINA scene, in particular, is to challenge the perception of space familiar to the audience through the prism of queerness. That is why the reflected interior augmented with holographic performance is key. This work comprehends the notion of disorientation of a queer person in the patriarchal system. Furthermore, it celebrates the performative essence of queerness. Working with queer activists who express their identity in creative practices, we want to give them a platform to present themselves to a wide international audience through the poetics of augmented reality and documentary video holograms.