UKRAINIAN BA(O)NDAGE

In the beginning of May in blooming gardens near Kherson city the photo project "Ukrainian bandage" was finished. First time the "Totem" Studio will present this project in Yerevan, Armenian Centre of Contemporary Experimental Art in border of the festival "WOMEN'S CITY" (June 10-25, 2004). The aim of the exhibition is to present women in different colors from different points of view overcoming the stereotypes.
Project "Ukrainian bandage" is the one more attempt to realize the idea of Freedom and freedom from freedom, relationships between Master and Material, national culture and contemporary art. And why words "bandage" and "bondage" sound so similar?..
The citation from project conception:
"Two miles remain from reformation of human mind to its reconstruction. Woman, as many men think, all her historical past was in bondage. As many other men think, woman enjoyed her bondage and aspired to it subconsciously as means to be free of unnecessary social responsibility. As many women think, they will remain in bondage till men discuss the rightfulness or non-rightfulness of such bondage, and just the fact of such discussions shows that the woman's hands and legs are tied if not by the fact of real bondage, but by the masculine stereotype of such decision of the problem…"
The other citation:
"Tradition in its formal manifestation fettered national self-consciousness thus mush, that speak about the wide-trousers statehood of Ukrainian culture became indecently already. Stereotypically woman is more conservative, but let try to explain to official men (and really men are the total majority of "big" officials), what the Culture is. Just try. Are the women really want this bandaging and dictating culture? Is this culture the band to the death or just sing after cord bandage, which is resolve with time?..

Project idea: Elena Afanasyeva
Photo by Maks Afanasyev
Bandage by Andrey Lusta
Models: Zhanna Vozbrannaya, Julia Volyazlovskaya, Natalie Astasyeva, Oksana Mankovskaya, Elena Afanasyeva.

Ukrainian spectators will see the project "Ukrainian ba(o)ndage" during the festival "DIDTSEBABA-2004" in September 2004.