Every Day: Belarusian Female Artists Revolving the Revolution
I’d spare this text from historical nuances about Belarusian and Ukrainian contexts of revolutionary movements, but main thing here’s next: both countries shared colonial past under Soviet Union, which caused deaths of dozens of national artists and activists. First 30 years of liberty are quite different for these countries as well. But the common point is fighting against colonial legacy of dictatorship and inequality. When last year first riots in Belarus started, Ukrainian activists were deeply involved in helping neighbors in their fight, as we compared that to our Maidan history. Especially artistic community of two countries were connected in a permanent collaboration. After 9 months of riots, Kyiv gallery Mystetskyi Arsenal opened an exhibition of Belarusian artists named Every Day. Art. Solidarity. Resistance. After a year of riots, Belarusian activist Vitaliy Shyshov was found beaten and hanged in Kyiv. Artistic and political struggle of Belarusian resistance met in Ukrainian capital. So, that’s why I, Ukrainian with experience of Maidan and work with Belarusian artist, decided to write this text.
TO BE HEARD
History of dissident movements in post-soviet countries is that very soil, from which sprouts of national self-realization grows. Paradoxically, todays post-soviet nationalist movements, which are traditionally patriarchal and androcentric, originally arise from voices of absurd, startling though feeble voices. All those avant-gardists, and surrealists, who were stroking sketches for future national movements, who were developing, like a film, forgotten and diligently hidden national voices—all of them were weak and mostly scared—, yet strong enough to keep
fighting till the moment of Gulag, or simple stifling of their voices. Frequently these voices are represented by women. Media (especially western ones) tend to show Belarusian revolution with female face—using mainly photos of women protesting. Meanwhile, dictator Lukashenko have told, referring to his main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, that Belarusian Constitution is not suited for woman. In patriarchal Belarus woman is depoliticized, and so is not considered as a worthy opponent, or even a voice worth to be heard. In the meantime, lots of Belarusian artists live in exile, since 90s’ protests in Belarusian National Art Academy. Some of them think, that working in Belarus, means essentialism, and perception your work as just a victim’s rhetoric. “Every day!” is the slogan protesters in Belarus shout for emphasizing rhythm of the resistance, underlining that the protests will continue tomorrow.This phrase has reflected the permanence of the struggle since the first night of government violence in August, 2020. “Every day!” still unites people in a joint promise to take to the streets, to make the protest their everyday practice. The thing is, that everyday life is mostly female area. And breaking revolution into this area, means recreating yourself not just like Belarusian, not just like artist, but also like woman.
Three vectors of current revolutionary art made by Belarusian female artists seem essential today. One of significant projects telling about uncertainty of this recreating and revolution is the work by Tamara Sokolova and Anna Sokolova, named Gummitwist. This feeling is transmitted through the elastic band stretched around 2 columns, and screen between them, with a vibrating image, resembling vibration of an elastic band under pressure. It reminds you of a children’s (mostly girls’) game of a Chinese garter, reminds of carefree past, but at the same time pictures revolutionary everyday life. And this junction of past and nowadays, is one of the leading themes in works of Belarusian female artist.
Other theme significant for revolutionary art, is using artist’s femininity for deeper understanding of the very meaning of struggle for visibility. Jana Shostak makes a A Minute of Shouting for Belarus performance where she’s standing near the EU Delegation building in Warsaw, dressed in white and red (colors of forbidden Belarusian flag), and screams till she needs to grasp some air. And then she repeats. Every day she shouts at the top of her lungs for one minute to denounce torture committed by the Lukashenko regime and to demand stronger EU sanctions. This almost hysterical (and hystericity is a stereotypical women feature) demand of being heard by European society, explains a lot about the very concept of revolution. As it was already mentioned, all revolutions are about need of people to be seen, need of their problems were seen. And when you’re trying to be seen (or heard), you start behave like those who are usually unheard. And that is why femininity of revolution is a very common concept for female Belarusian artists.
REVOLUTION AS MIROIR
Third idea, representing vectors of Belarusian revolutionary art, is closer look to new everyday life. The slogan “Every Day!” is a reference to protest on a daily basis, and so private life, private monotony becomes something brand new. This concept is best, as for me, represented by Nadya Sayapina’s work Dollhouse. It’s an installation of color sketches, depicting artist’s and her cellmates’ daily life in Akrescina and Zhodino pre-trial detention centers. It’s not only about fear, but also about solidarity and caring, as new everyday tactics of resistance. Name of installation refers both to girlish toy, and name of Henrik Ibsen’s play. Plot of that play is centered around story of an oppressed by her husband woman, who decides to start her life without him, despite social tension. Oppressed people of Belarus, who were supposed to depend on Batska (Belarusian word for ‘Father’, which Lukashenko uses referring to himself), are trying to escape this patriarchal dictatorship. Calm and carrying everyday practices become a new political tool of emancipation.
I’d consider these 3 vectors of today’s Belarusian female artists as the most representative: junction between calm but oppressed past and turbulent but emancipating today; using own femininity (and stereotypes about it) in fight for being visible; and practicing new everyday life, which became a revolutionary field.
There is nothing new in demonstration the revolution as a female figure. That wasn’t even started with Eugène Delacroix’ La Liberté guidant le people. Historical changes, though being bloodstained and painful, are still squeezed in everyday prosy context. And who’s more representative of everyday life then women? Even opponents of revolutionary movements in post-soviet countries tend to define revolutions as childish or hysterical, and the figure of hystericity is an inseparable from feminine context. As each revolution is a stade du miroir (in terms of Jacques Lacan), it means self-cognition for majority, and making self visible for minorities. Women who join revolution, are rather representing themselves, than ideas of changes, because what needs to be changed in post-soviet countries, is the idea of person, idea of equality, idea of being yourself. And each revolution equals idea. As Joan Didion mentioned, it’s a narrative without rhetoric. Art-activists are used to be some like incomplete activists, but they are those who return rhetorical form to revolution. So, accentuating on female artists, on those who’re not only being revolutionary, but also fight for self-representation along with giving the revolution it’s rhetoric, is an important conversation, which deepen us in the very idea of revolution.
Halya Vroublevska is an historian specialising in the culture of collective memory in Ukraine and the historical traumas of Eastern Europe.