Rufina Bazlova Explained

Rufina Bazlova
Birth Place:Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Education:University of West Bohemia
Field:Illustration
Works:The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka, Framed in Belarus
Awards:Young Package Award

Rufina Bazlova (Belarusian: Руфіна Базлова; born 1990) is a Belarusian artist based in Prague. She gained international renown for her 2020 series The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka, which uses the traditional embroidery craft of vyshyvanka to depict the protests in Belarus.

Biography

Bazlova comes from the large city of Grodno in western Belarus. She studied in Plzeň and later worked in Prague as a set designer and performance artist. She received her master's diploma in illustration and graphic design from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen in 2015. Bazlova moved to Prague and completed a bachelor's degree in scenography at the Academy of Performing Arts in 2020.[1]

Work

In August 2020, thousands of people joined the protests against Alexander Lukashenko's election, including many artists. In response to the Belarusian election campaign, Bazlova designed her first protest embroideries and posted them on Instagram. Bazlova uses traditional Belarusian embroidery to create critical art. The figures, which look like pictograms, are in the national colors of white and red of the Belarusian opposition. The technique of applying red thread to white fabric with cross stitching invokes the vyshyvanka technique, a local folklore. The embroideries, which at first seem harmless, become digital narratives and thus a testimony to the Belarusian mass protests.[2]

Since the early Middle Ages, vyshyvanka, the East Slavic patterns in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, have been embroidered on clothing. Motifs of that time were about love, the sun or protection against evil spirits. Bazlova's depictions include tanks, helicopters, fleeing people and swastikas and cockroaches dumping trucks. Among protesters in Belarus, the cockroach symbol is code for President Alexander Lukashenko, who has brutally quelled mass protests since the allegedly rigged presidential election in August 2020. Bazlova's art provides insight into the female-driven democratic resistance in Belarus.[3]

Bazlova creates her designs digitally; very few motifs are actually produced, as production would be too time-consuming. The digitally processed vyshyvanka designs documented the history of the Belarusian uprising. According to Bazlova, each tableau is associated with an actual event from 2020. Her Serie The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka has become internationally known; Vyzhyvanka is a play on words from the Belarusian words "embroidery" and "survival." Vyshyvanka means "embroidered shirt." Vyzhyvats means "survival".[4] In the embroidered comic Zhenokol (Feminnature) Rufina Bazlova presented themes on feminism in the folk tradition.[5] [1] Together with Sofia Tocar, Bazlova founded Framed in Belarus, a social art project that addresses the situation of political prisoners.[6] On the occasion of the Charlemagne Prize award in 2022, Rufina Bazlova exhibited current works in Aachen.[7]

In August 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore a shirt designed by Bazlova at the opening of Independence Week.[8] [9] Bazlova also designed the New Year's card for the German Federal Foreign Office in 2022.[10]

Awards

Exhibitions (selection)

Solo exhibitions
Group exhibitions

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023-02-03. Philipp Fritz aus Prag. de. Weissrussland - Sticken gegen Lukaschenko: Wie diese junge Frau mit Nadel und Faden gegen das Regime ankämpft. www.luzernerzeitung.ch. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203121108/https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/international/sticken-gegen-lukaschenko-wie-diese-junge-frau-mit-nadel-und-faden-gegen-das-regime-ankampft-ld.1258841. live.
  2. Web site: 2023-02-03. Philipp Fritz. 2020-09-08. de. Weißrussland: Das politische Erwachen der Jugend - WELT. www.welt.de. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203115802/https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article215307480/Weissrussland-Das-politische-Erwachen-der-Jugend.html. live.
  3. Web site: 2023-02-03. Leipziger Volkszeitung. 2021-03-09. de. Widerstand als roter Faden: Leipziger Galerie zeigt Ausstellung über das Demonstrieren. www.lvz.de. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203121108/https://www.lvz.de/kultur/regional/der-rote-faden-des-widerstands-leipziger-galerie-zeigt-ausstellung-ueber-das-demonstrieren-WWHML7WRIFVX3P6UFYGGIZMT6U.html. live.
  4. Web site: 2023-02-05. en. The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka. bazlova.humspace.ucla.edu. 2023-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20230205073425/https://bazlova.humspace.ucla.edu/. live.
  5. Web site: 2023-02-05. en. Author. www.vyzyvanka.com. 2023-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20230205134612/https://www.vyzyvanka.com/author. live.
  6. Web site: 2023-02-03. de. Rufina Bazlova – Outpost. www.kunstvereindresden.de. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203174413/https://www.kunstvereindresden.de/rufina-bazlova. live.
  7. Web site: 2023-02-03. de-DE. Freitag, 13.05.2022, 19.00 Uhr. www.karlspreis.de. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203121554/https://www.karlspreis.de/de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/veranstaltung/freitag-13-05-2022-19-00-uhr-1. live.
  8. Web site: 2023-02-03. Jana Haase. 2022-09-28. Belarus-Dokumentation am blu? :Nächste Idee für den Minsk-Ausblick. www.tagesspiegel.de. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203121547/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/potsdam/landeshauptstadt/belarus-dokumentation-am-blu-nachste-idee-fur-den-minsk-ausblick-8693494.html. live.
  9. Web site: 2023-02-03. Angela Delonge. 2022-08-24. de. Weißrussin macht Furore: Selenskyjs Hemd: Designt von Karlspreis-Künstlerin Bazlova. www.aachener-zeitung.de/. 2023-02-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203121552/https://www.aachener-zeitung.de/politik/selenskyjs-hemd-designt-von-karlspreis-kuenstlerin-bazlova_aid-75653541. live.
  10. Web site: Rufina Bazlova on Instagram . 2023-02-14 . Instagram . en . 2023-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230217023413/https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm4MiDyszZ5/ . live .
  11. Web site: Wystawa główna "Przyszłość Woloności". 14 May 2017. 20 February 2023. 19 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230219235829/http://btapoznan.pl/wystawaglowna/. live.
  12. Web site: 2023-02-14. en. DAS MINSK. dasminsk.de. 2023-02-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20230214131202/https://dasminsk.de/en/exhibitions/2569/rufina_bazlova_such_a_minsk. live.
  13. Web site: Rufina Bazlova – Outpost . 2023-04-17 . Kunstverein Dresden . de . 3 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203174413/https://www.kunstvereindresden.de/rufina-bazlova . live .
  14. Web site: @prostory.work pro.story Instagram profile, stories, followers and tagged posts . 2023-04-17 . greatfon.com . 7 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230307075903/https://greatfon.com/v/prostory.work . live .
  15. Web site: Rufina Bazlova . 2023-04-17 . Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum . de-DE . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225172612/https://suermondt-ludwig-museum.de/ausstellung/archiv/2022-2/rufina-bazlova/ . live .
  16. Web site: 2023-02-05. Martyna Czekalska. 2021-09-05. pl. Łowicz. Wernisaż wystawy "Nici z demokracji" Rufiny Bazlovej w Galerii Browarna (foto). lowicz24.eu. 2023-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20230205083213/https://lowicz24.eu/artykul/lowicz-wernisaz-wystawy/1215166. live.
  17. Web site: 2023-02-14. The History of Belarussian Vyzhyvanka /. bazlova.humspace.ucla.edu. 2023-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20230205073425/https://bazlova.humspace.ucla.edu/. live.
  18. Web site: Nazione . La . 2023-01-10 . Appunti su questo tempo, la mostra a CasermArcheologica - Cosa Fare - lanazione.it . 2023-04-17 . La Nazione . it . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173012/https://www.lanazione.it/arezzo/cosa%20fare/arezzo-sansepolcro-mostra-1.8445549 . live .
  19. Web site: 2023-02-14. en. Politics in Art - MOCAK. en.mocak.pl. 2022-12-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20221206215847/https://en.mocak.pl/politics-in-art. live.
  20. Web site: What is the Proper Way to Display a Flag? . 2023-04-17 . de-DE . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173129/https://weserburg.de/ausstellung/what-is-the-proper-way-to-display-a-flag/ . live .
  21. Web site: MANIFEST Yourself! (Queer) Feminist Manifestos since the Suffragettes - Announcements - e-flux . 2023-04-17 . www.e-flux.com . en . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173250/https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/485147/manifest-yourself-queer-feminist-manifestos-since-the-suffragettes/ . live .
  22. Web site: The Medium is the Message: Flags and Banners . 2023-04-17 . Wende Museum . en . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173425/https://wendemuseum.org/exhibition/the-medium-is-the-message-flags-and-banners/ . live .
  23. Web site: Demo Mode Society . 2023-04-17 . ASPN . de-DE . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173544/https://www.aspngalerie.de/show/demo-mode-society-i/ . live .
  24. Web site: Bayeux. Exposition estivale dédiée à l'art textile à la galerie d'art Le Radar . 2023-04-17 . actu.fr . fr . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225173709/https://actu.fr/normandie/bayeux_14047/bayeux-l-exposition-estivale-dediee-a-l-art-textile_42317983.html . live .

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