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The V International Biennale of Stage Design took place in Tbilisi from 25 September to 5 October, which was attended by Ukrainian artists from the Scenography Gallery - Liudmyla Nagorna and Kateryna Tyshchenko with the installation "Chugayster".
Chuhayster is an amazing creature of Ukrainian mythology, a forest man, a cheerful man covered with wool, who loves to play the flute and dance, but can also dance the opponent to death.
Chuhayster is also the name of a camouflage military garment that is actively used by Ukrainian defenders in the fight against the occupiers.
Weaving a camouflage chugayster, as well as camouflage nets, is a process that is familiar to many Ukrainian women and men today. Sometimes people give away their own belongings, clothes that were part of their wardrobe yesterday.
"My chugayster was woven from what people brought in the village of Kyiv region, where I was during the first months of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And people brought everything: old sheets, clothes, whatever they could. It was like everyone's sacrifice to protect our common future.
I didn't have any fabric dyes at hand, so I had to paint old curtains from the windows of the 40s and 50s with onion peels. So the skills of using eco-friendly dyes came in handy. " - the author of the installation Liudmyla Nahorna.
The feeling that your own world, everyday life, history and culture of your people are being reassessed, broken into thousands of pieces, purified and transformed into something new, something that gives you confidence, can serve as help and protection for your relatives and those who are fighting for freedom and the right to their own identity with arms in their hands - this is something that exists not only in our everyday life.
"Headscarves are like magical amulets that weave together the armour of invisibility, the armour of protection that gives a warrior the power of a mythical creature!" - Liudmyla Nahorna.
Today, Ukrainian theatre, scenography and costume design are undergoing similar processes of reboot.
Art ceases to be detached from life, and theatre in Ukraine is increasingly gaining freedom from the longstanding Russian cultural and ideological occupation. The Ukrainian artist is now standing up for national identity, just as a soldier stands up for his people and land.
This installation is a cross-border of worlds and states in which Ukrainian stage designers have to live and work today.
The authors of the project, Liudmyla Nahorna and Kateryna Tyshchenko, created the installation based on their own experiences and living through the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine today.
"The Chuhayster crucified in space is a symbol not only of sacrifice, but also of steadfastness and unbreakability." - Liudmyla Nahorna.
We are grateful for the friendly support and assistance of the Biennale's director, Nino Gunia, as well as Tetiana Kolotylova and the Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia.
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