Anatomy of Citizenship / Farewell 1

Maria Gvardeitseva

Performance

hand-made knitting, threads; video art 9:24

London, UK (The Coningsby Gallery) and in Pisa, Italy (Roots Gallery)

2023

By using the principles of separation, Maria studies the nature of our bond with the Homeland; through the patchwork of these memory objects she palpates the limits of an individual’s autonomy. The artist shows one of the most functional power and domination mechanisms of the State. By blending with a human's fundamental identity base, State attributes mutate into parasitic symbols and associate themselves to the notion of Homeland. In the part of the installation entitled «Anatomy of citizenship» Maria questions the symbolic limits of State attributes. She unravels the state flag of modern totalitarian Belarus, leaving only a pile of red and green threads. Is there a state without a symbol? And what remains of the homeland when its symbol no longer exists? The answers give ghostly images of memories.