Born: 1971, Moscow, Russia

Nationality: Russian-German

Style: New Media Art, Net Art

Influences: Early Internet culture, hypertext fiction, graphic design

"The Internet is not a medium, it's an environment."

Notable Artwork

Olia Lialina - My Boyfriend Came Back From The War (1996)

My Boyfriend Came Back From The War (1996)

About Olia Lialina

Born: 1971, Moscow, Russia Nationality: Russian-German Style: New Media Art, Net Art Influences: Early Internet culture, hypertext fiction, graphic design Major Exhibitions: “My Boyfriend Came Back From The War” (1996), “Agatha Appears” (1997), “Last Real Net Art Museum” (2015) Quote: “The Internet is not a medium, it’s an environment.” Website: http://art.teleportacia.org/

Notable Artwork: My Boyfriend Came Back From The War (1996)

This is an early and influential work of net art, presented as a black-and-white, hypertext narrative. The user clicks on different words and phrases to navigate through a fragmented story about a couple’s reunion after a war.

Significance

My Boyfriend Came Back From The War is a seminal example of net art, using the unique properties of the web (hyperlinks, interactivity) to create a non-linear, participatory narrative. It explores themes of memory, trauma, and communication in the digital age. It helped define the aesthetics and possibilities of early internet art.