Mila Teshaieva
Ukrainian, b. 1974
Untitled (Aqtau), 2011
Archival pigment print
19 5/16 x 27 9/16 in
2015.3.5
Museum purchase
Collection of the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
http://museum.marquette.edu/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=7917&viewType=detailView

Cultural scholars Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman define play as “free movement within a more rigid structure.” Fans play with and against their fan objects, using the structure of their fandom to play with their own ideas, actions, and interpretations. In return, through their expectations, fans create a structure within which the fan objects can also play. Fan objects “play” when they delight fans by giving them something new and unexpected. If, however, through this play, the owners and creators of these fan objects step too far outside of the boundaries of what fans see is acceptable, they may find themselves without any fans at all.  

Mila Teshaieva was born 1974 in Ukraine, and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. For over four years, she has documented the transformation of the three former Soviet republics on the shores of the Caspian Sea: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The battle for control of the region's vast oil and gas reserves and the search for a national identity have led to far-reaching changes for the population, the environment, and general social values. Teshaieva documents the struggle between aspiration and structural lack, between new world desires and old world infrastructure. Her work focuses on constructed identities and the play between public and private histories.