A monument of weightless sandbags explains what soft power is

SoftPower is a land art installation by artist Gregory Orekhov that echoes the shape and arrangement of sandbags, objects commonly associated with conflict scenarios and emergency contexts. In their traditional function, sandbags act as barriers of protection and defense. In this work, the familiar silhouette is retained, but the material qualities are transformed: instead of sand there is air, and functional weight is replaced by lightness.

The installation consists of inflatable, pillow-like elements stacked in a circular ring. The configuration does not generate an impenetrable barricade, but an accessible perimeter that defines a space for pause and reflection. The transformation of the sandbag motif from a defensive tool to a spatial device shifts its meaning from the military to the cultural and artistic plane. Located in France, the work enters into dialogue with the country's historical role in projecting its cultural identity across borders, using non-military tools. In this sense, the installation recalls the political and social concept of "soft power," understood as the ability to exert influence through culture, ideas and values. 

SoftPower can be read as a temporary architectural gesture that does not isolate but opens. The work does not propose physical protection from external threats, but rather a reflection on the value of culture as a form of resilience. In this sense, the weightless sandbags become a metaphor for a different non-aggressive force. Orekhov's work thus stands at the crossroads of material reinterpretation, symbolic transformation, and spatial experimentation. The artist uses an object rooted in the imagery of defense to reconstruct its meaning, suggesting how art can redefine instruments of conflict into forms that evoke openness and nonviolent resistance.