Chrysanthemums, roses, asters, gladioli

Poster series, D-Print on paper

Installation view
Chrysanthemums, roses, asters, gladioli, 2022
Installation and reading performance
HELLERAU – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste, Dresden

The revolutions and global movements of modern history are often associated with names of flowers: the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia in 2010, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in 2005 or the Rose Revolution in Ukraine in 2004.
The poster series under the title “ Chrysanthemums, roses, asters, gladioli” refers to the latest protests against the violence of the patriarchal state in Belarus. The posters depict motives from the images taken by the artist during the protest events in Belarus in 2020. The depiction is reduced to a few details: parts of the female body, hands, flowers, and hands holding the mobile devices which are equated as living bodies of protest and media information carriers.
This creates a different, non heroic narrative of a revolution: A soft power that seeks a non-violent relationship to the other, a weakness that produces a strength like the Belarusian philosopher and feminist Olga Shparaga sums it up when she talks about the protests which are breathing through female bodies.