Focus on Belarus - Terra Incognita
"Our people are not used to live on their own. They got used to someone always giving them something." Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus
Andrei Liankevich understands himself as a chronicler of the slow and scarcely visible process of social change in Belarus. His photographs are not meant to testify against the regime or to glorify the simple life of his fellowmen. He asks the beholder to get ready for a surprising and open-minded virtual journey into his homeland.
The exhibition convenes almost tender views on peasant life with the stirring fury of non-conformist art projects set up by critical youngsters in the capital Minsk. Chippendales dressing up quickly in a shabby bathroom may be seen next to images depicting the overwhelming omnipresence of police and secret service henchmen in the streets and sometimes even woods. In the meantime the Soviet past, which is actually a part of the present in the official life of Belarus, creeps into our consciousness like a disturbing background noise.
Selected photographs from Andrei’s recent “pagan” project will be presented during the exhibition in Germany for the first time. These black and white pictures plunge into a rural life which appears to take us on a travel far back into time, where remnants of pagan rites have outlived inspite of christianisation. Click here to order the catalogue. Read the coverage on the exhibition in Berlin daily tageszeitung (in German) and on Deutsche Welle Belarus (in Russian and English).
Andrei Liankevich was born in Hrodno, Belarus in 1981. Since 2001 he has been working as a photo journalist for a number of newspapers and magazines at home and abroad, among them Nasha Niva (Minsk), New York Times (Moscow) and Rzeczpospolita (Warsaw), as well as the Europan Pressphoto Agency (Moscow). Andrei is represented by AnzenbergerAgency Vienna. Visit his website on www.liankevich.com.
Events:
Location: ACUD Gallery, Veteranenstraße 21, 10119 Berlin
- Vernissage, 27 Jan 2009, 19:00
See the press release (in German).
Come into our photo gallery (photos by Henning Rupp).
- CULTural Days, 20-22 Feb 2009
Workshop, panel discussion, talk with the artist, reading, film and party with DJ Nordpolzigeuner.
See the press release and programme (in German). Come into our photo gallery (photos by Tina Otto) and read the coverage by Deutsche Welle Belarus on the panel discussion (in Russian or English).
- Finissage, 1 Mar 2009, 20:30
Followed by Belarussian band flaus&klein in ACUDSessionCafe, 22:00.
You would like to learn more about the project? Do not hesitate to contact us at ACUD Galerie, Leiter Philipp Koch, Veteranenstrasse 21, D-10119 Berlin, Tel. 030-41716726 or send us an email.
Documentation:
Have a look at the brochure with material on the different events of the project and a fine selection of pictures.
Team:
Curating: Philipp Koch, ACUD e.V.
Public Relations: Yvonne Most.
Coordination: Gert Röhrborn, Citizens of Europe e.V.
“Focus on Belarus – Terra Incognita” is organized by Citizens of Europe e.V. in cooperation with Kalegium Pinsk and ACUD e. V. Berlin. Event and media partners Impreuna e.V., Reporters without Borders, German-Belarussian Society. We are thankful for the generous financial support by Kontaktprogramm Belarus (DGO/Robert Bosch Foundation).