BRIDE IN BLACK
2014, video installation
One of the main subjects of enquiry in ZINAIDA's work is the search for the essence of a woman.The author pictures this essence in dialogue with the traditional elements of native culture—sentimental and full of soft power. ZINAIDA seeks out the bearers of sacred knowledge, those rare masters who possess skills passed down and distilled from generations past. In doing so, she opens the half-forgotten pages of the history and culture of Ukraine, researching the image within Ukrainian mythology and placing those images in intercultural conversation with counterparts from around the world.
The traditional element of Ukrainian wedding attire is a red necklace, symbolising health, well-being and happiness. The greater the number of strands of beads adorning the bride's white dress, the happier she will be in married life. The artist refers to this tradition and rethinks the rite: she modifies the code of archaic symbols in accordance with contexts of tragedy and trauma in Ukraine.
The installation "BRIDE IN BLACK" combines video projection on light, translucent canvases with a giant black necklace, which lies under fabrics on the lifeless land. White dress, wedding wreath, black necklace instead of red, arid land, charred wood — these are universal archetypes of a contemporary Ukraine plagued by strife, but adamant in its recognition of its singular identity. In the video, the bride dresses in the black necklace to meditative music, accepting the burden it brings and comprehending what her future experiences could and can be. At the same time, her light-filled, hopeful figure underscores the cusp of a women's lived experience, her transition to to another level of being. An oversized necklace in the installation is transformed from an element of national costume into a symbol sapped of its primary function. The video installation immerses the viewer in a contemplation of emotions and the protagonist's experience, immersing in a moment of transcendence.
The project has been shown has been shown in a solo exhibition at Shcherbenko Art Centre (Kyiv, Ukraine, 2014) and at the international project Personal Structures, presented within the framework of the 56th Venice Biennale (Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy, 2015).
The traditional element of Ukrainian wedding attire is a red necklace, symbolising health, well-being and happiness. The greater the number of strands of beads adorning the bride's white dress, the happier she will be in married life. The artist refers to this tradition and rethinks the rite: she modifies the code of archaic symbols in accordance with contexts of tragedy and trauma in Ukraine.
The installation "BRIDE IN BLACK" combines video projection on light, translucent canvases with a giant black necklace, which lies under fabrics on the lifeless land. White dress, wedding wreath, black necklace instead of red, arid land, charred wood — these are universal archetypes of a contemporary Ukraine plagued by strife, but adamant in its recognition of its singular identity. In the video, the bride dresses in the black necklace to meditative music, accepting the burden it brings and comprehending what her future experiences could and can be. At the same time, her light-filled, hopeful figure underscores the cusp of a women's lived experience, her transition to to another level of being. An oversized necklace in the installation is transformed from an element of national costume into a symbol sapped of its primary function. The video installation immerses the viewer in a contemplation of emotions and the protagonist's experience, immersing in a moment of transcendence.
The project has been shown has been shown in a solo exhibition at Shcherbenko Art Centre (Kyiv, Ukraine, 2014) and at the international project Personal Structures, presented within the framework of the 56th Venice Biennale (Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy, 2015).