PARAGRAPH24
“You are here on the basis of paragraph 24” – this is the first thing Maryna heard when she arrived in Berlin due to the military invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
At the time of the performance, the artist had been living in exile for 19 months. In the presentation for this performance Maryna says: “at the time of my arrival in Germany I lived in different countries, but only here in Germany first time I realized that this war would not end soon and, accordingly, I would not return home soon. I began to understand that I might have to start building my life anew.
And at that moment I met with two feelings that I had not been aware of before.The first was a feeling of Mourning for the former beloved life that I forcibly lost. And the second – the huge Frustration which filled the space where my beloved life used to be”.
In frame of performance PARAGRAPH24 Maryna made copies of all documents received in Germany during the 9 months of living here and being in temporary protection status. The process of copying documents was recorded on camera and, together with the text of paragraph 24, was demonstrated by projection on the wall along with the action of the performance.
During the performance, artist dipped these papers into a bathtub with 150 liters of water, and she also placed herself in it. Over a period of time, she mixed water and paper with her hands and body to create a pulp. She subsequently used this pulp to make cardboard title of the performance, using the papier-mâché technique and antiform method.
Performance presented as part of her residency in Somos arts.
Video and editing by Emilia Jechna and Misza Medynskx.
Also the performance was filmed by the crew of the documentary The Loom for potential use in the film. This footage is not available until after the film’s release.
Location Germany, Berlin, Somos arts. Curatorial support: Paulus Fugers.
Duration: 50 minutes. Photo credit: Jana Laemmerer for The Loom
September 30, 2023
MARYNA SEMENKOVA 