Oleg Pospelov’s ‘The Sentimental Collection’ Explores Memory and Mortality in Santa Cruz
Artist Oleg Pospelov’s new exhibition, The Sentimental Collection, is on display at Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s La Recova Art Center through September 27, exploring the intersection of childhood memory, identity, and the human struggle with mortality.
A new exhibition in Santa Cruz de Tenerife explores the fragility of memory and our struggle to hold onto the past. Titled The Sentimental Collection, the show by artist Oleg Pospelov is on display at the La Recova Art Center’s Sala L until September 27.
The exhibition focuses on finding meaning in everyday objects that might otherwise seem worthless. Pospelov’s work is built around a personal archive of items his daughter collected during her childhood—everything from scraps of paper and candy wrappers to twigs and stones. The artist views this common childhood habit not just as a hobby, but as a way for children to process the early realization that life is fleeting.
From an anthropological view, saving these mundane objects acts as a defense against the anxiety of losing the people and moments we love. By displaying these items as art, Pospelov asks viewers to consider how we build our identities through the things we keep and why we rely on objects to anchor our personal histories. The exhibition moves beyond the home to offer a deeper look at mortality, contrasting the adult tendency to categorize things by their use with a child’s ability to find profound meaning in the temporary.