The II-32 series prefabricated residential development along Godovikov Street in Moscow began in the early 1960s. Previously, the Maryina Roscha District had been populated by small wooden houses. I have never seen this house or how it welcomed its first residents. Yet, I was able to find Google Street View pictures made in 2012, 2015 and 2018: it was an ordinary 5-story prefab—there are lots of them, with retrofit glazing on the balconies and improvised parking on the premises.

I originally found the house in ruins as I randomly stumbled upon it one dusky evening. I do not think many would remember this house in that state—it was demolished very quickly. It always seemed to me that the timeframe of ruins is eternity. It is far beyond the scope of human life: the ruins of a Roman forum are virtually the same to our eyes as they were seen in the 20th or 18th century. In Moscow, the timeframe of mass housing ruins is very short. It only took a couple of days for the house to disappear without a trace. But the random automated imaging done by a car will live outside time. Perhaps, someone who grew up in this house on Godovikov St will occasionally go back to them and their eternal summer of 2018, the eternal fall of 2012 and 2014. As surprising as it is, these pictures taken in different seasons evoke some feeling that might be called nostalgia. Even in me, a person who has never seen the house. Identical or very similar houses can be seen out of my window. Looking at them, I know they are destined to be demolished under the city renovation program. People still live there and the houses still stand, but I catch myself thinking that I perceive them as a memory of the past.

Google street view snapshots. 2012, 2014 and 2018

Renovation. 2019. oil on canvas. 150x200. Private collection