Daria, why did you decide to perform I Will Close the Sky So You Could Breathe in front of the monument The Brotherly Mound?
I came to Sofia with the idea for the performance. I wanted to find a place from the Soviet era that would serve as a kind of stage and reflect the past. When I saw the monument in Borisova Gradina, I felt that I had found the one I needed. Its composition featuring figures of soldiers and civilians could serve as a background. And the square in front of it –– is a stage. Later I read that the monument is dedicated to the Bulgarian communists who died fighting fascism and the authoritarian regime. On the monument there is the quotation of Hristo Botev: “He who falls in the fight for freedom does not die”.
We, Ukrainians, are fighting for our freedom in this war. Russia's government says that they came to rescue us, they say they are fighting against fascists. In reality, they kill civilians and destroy our homes, being fascists themself. They want to go back to the Soviet past. Performing in front of the monument I wanted to have the image of this past behind me. And soldiers –– who were supposed to protect, and now they are killing civilians. It is a lot to think about…
A few days after I found The Brotherly Mound Monument, the world saw the images from Bucha, where people killed by Russians were buried in brotherly mounds.
Tell us about the Ukrainian song that you sing?
‘Verbovaya Doschechka’ is a Ukrainian folk song, traditionally performed in spring by young people. In the song, the girl called Nastochka is walking on the bridge waiting for her boyfriend to come. She symbolically passes from a girl's to married life. The meaning ‘bridge’ is based on an ancient, mythological meaning –– the sky on which the sun walks.
This meaning connects with the location I choose. From the sky you can see the ornament of the sun in front of the monument. During the performance, I walked from the center to the front of it.
Why did you choose this song?
The idea of the performance came to me together with a song. I know it because we performed this song with my band Panivalkova, where I played the drums. My performance brings a new meaning to a song. Mothers, daughters and girlfriends are waiting for their men to come from the war. Some of them never go back home. So I performed this song as a woman's cry. There is also strength in this singing. It is the spirit that allows you to fight when there is no hope left.
What does the net mean to you?
When the war started I went to help volunteers and weaved camouflage nets in my hometown Rivne. It is a step-by-step process where many people get involved. Some donate their clothes for the material, others sort and cut the fabric. Stripes then are woven into a stretched fishnet until the entire surface will be covered. Camouflage net is made together by women, men and kids, so it is not only an object for protection, it's accumulated energy of faith in our victory.
My idea was that people come to the performance, weave it together, create camouflage with yellow and blue fabrics and metaphorically close the sky. It happened that nobody came to support me. So, protection was never made. It looks as if I am trapped in the net. And still, I perform to cover the sky with my hands.
When I think about the net, it is also about connection. I believe that we can live in the future where everyone has a place in the world doing what they love –– working as one organism in freedom and independence.
How do you feel about your naked body?
It is the first time I perform naked. And it is quite symbolic. The naked body is fragile, it feels like you don’t have any protection. It is how Ukrainians feel being under attack. We didn’t know how to live when the war started. Still, you have your body, you can breathe, the energy is there. It is all you need to continue living.
What about the photographs of the skies you are showing?
I’ve been collecting pictures of the sky made by Ukrainians during the war. Through this simple action, I wanted to show the spirit of Ukraine and how we are connected. The sky now is a threat. At the same time, the sky itself is peaceful. Sky like the blue color on the Ukrainian flag is a symbol of freedom. Russian missiles fall from the sky and destroy our homes, culture, and lives. Nevertheless, we continue to look at the sky and believe in our victory.
I invite people to take one of the postcards with a sky image.
How do all these skies relate?
Sky of War is about uniting Ukraininias during the war, bringing our spirit of freedom. And my performance in Borisova Gradina was about connecting the local community in Sofia. I worked on both projects simultaneously. In both projects, the subject is the sky and how the war changed the perception of it. For the performance, I printed these images of Sky of War and put them on the monument, so people in Sofia could see the sky of Ukraine and feel related. These are the same pictures that you can see in Swimming Pool.
