ROOTING POINT

11 November - 12 December 2023

Opening: 11 November 16:00

Arenbergstraat 1D
1000 Brussels, Belgium

People without memory is a people without a future. Belarusian language and culture have been under attack throughout history. The language has been simplified and edited to serve a narrative that the country doesn’t and cannot exist separately from its neighbour, Russia. Our culture has been called similar to that of Russia, and has been considered provincial and secondary. For many Belarusians, the gradual loss of culture and identity has gone unnoticed for years.

The project “Rooting Point” aims to attract the attention of a wider audience to the culture of Belarus and strategies to preserve your own identity far away from home. It is a collaboration of 4 artists with Belarusian origin, each of whom is rediscovering her roots in her own way, in connection with immigration, the unprecedented repressions in Belarus itself, and the war in neighbouring Ukraine. Each of the artists looks at this through different media and visual languages.

Julia Mekes raises the question of finding identity through the language of thousands’ year old geometric symbols and the ritual of the ceremonial towel. The therapeutic power of symbols that existed long ago, the idea of writing a new message and thus a new version of one’s life, is at the core of Julia’s project VyZyvanka, the Ritual Towel. Julia’s work includes different elements, such as the artist’s book, a printed edition, video materials documenting the creation of the ceremonial towel and the ritual itself, graphic works and a master class on geometric ornaments.

Lena Davidovich's project’s title is ‘Rise up, My Love!’. The name originated from the Song of Solomon (chapter 2, 10-12). Lena reflects on a crisis situation in general, and on the current political crisis in Belarus in particular, and responds by performing a song in Belarusian. The artist approaches crisis situations as moments of honesty, when the real state of a society or individual comes to the surface. Lena sees the theme of crisis as a chance for change and an opening for new opportunities and possibilities to rethink our cultural patterns and value system. Her works include an installation with drawings and live performance accompanied with video projection.

Tasha Arlova chooses poetry and visual essay to convey her ideas of longing for roots and a sense of belonging. She employs dark water and nature as metaphors for safe refuge, a place for hibernation and healing. In times of crisis, we retreat deep inside, under the water, to find a sense of security, much like we once found it in our mothers' wombs. Tasha will present her musical video 'Call Me Home' and a series of drawings.

Darya Akkerman looks back on Minsk, where her identity has been shaped. In her visual essay, "Fading City," she uses the medium of architectural drawings to reflect on what it means to grow up in such a complex and ambiguous place. Through the use of specific locations within Minsk, like the "Ў" Gallery and the unfinished Gazprom office building, these drawings reveal the city's spatial features influenced by its historical and political circumstances. At the Rooting Point exhibition, the "Fading City" drawings will be for the first time displayed in a new way, as translucent engravings. This change in form lets the engravings express and reflect the feelings of inaccessibility and loss that are prevalent in Belarus, in particular in Minsk, Darya's hometown.

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Searching For A Blue Bird

ROOTING POINT