You are too good for me

100 × 34 × 34 Cm ceramic vase, underglaze drawing, gold, triple fire

2023

You are too good for me explores dating and romance in the modern world. Murashkina examines how online apps have fast-tracked dating, sex and even marriage. The process of flirting has been reduced to clicking a few buttons and finding out the personalities and mystery of a person all in one profile.

And how many people quickly give themselves away in hopes of a relationship?

The vase illustrates this topic in a playful and comical manner. Bizarre, half-naked characters stand in line waiting to meet the beautiful nymph, who is chastely covering herself with leaves. The company of men includes Bluebeard, a man with a rabbit’s head and another who hides his aggression behind a mask. They remark that she is ‘too good’ for them, as they wait for the chance to lie with her. She wonders how she can choose someone from such a group of men and instead imagines Phyllis and Aristotle, who are depicted on the lid. Phyllis had once seduced Aristotle and made him carry her on his back like a horse.

The nymph wishes for such a relationship, where the man would be incredibly intelligent but easily succumb to her charms, as Aristotle had done.