“Patterns of Life” is an art project directed by Nargiza Usmanova made for Belarusian folk festival “Kupalle 2016”. This celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals. The event took place in Parry Sound District (Ontario, Canada) in July 2016 and was visited by more than one hundred people. That night, three traditional patterns were appeared beside Slutzak Guest House, which is 30 kilometres from Parry Sound town. The first pattern “Kupalle” is a symbol of the festival, the second pattern “Mother” – our roots and the country where we came from, and the third pattern “Child” – our future.
The objective
The project was aimed to unite people, make them feel a part of Belarusian history and culture. Choosing the symbols of mother and child, we wanted to convey the idea of importance of national traditions to our children. In addition, the installation was aimed to become the additional decoration for the festival and backdrop for taking pictures.
How it’s made
All three patterns were made with cardboard circles colored white and then painted by guests of the festival, including kids. Each structure, 4 meters tall and 2.5 meters long, was hung on a tree with a linen rope. For the opening, for more artistic effect, we also used a fog machine in combination with color spotlights.
The project statistics
Circles
435
Metres of rope (≈)
1000
Knots (≈)
1600
Stones
75
6 wooden bars, 6 bottles of spray paints, 3 RGB projectors, a fog machine, and art supplies
Showcase
OXYGEN – FRAGMENTED CITIES+IDENTITIES
It’s LIQUID International Architecture, Video Art, Painting, Photography, Installation and Performing Art Festival took place in Bogota (Colombia) in November 19 – December 19, 2016. Our video “Patterns of Life” have been projecting on a wall in the gallery in Bogota for a month.
Showcase
CONTEMPORARY VENICE Art Show
At the beginning of 2017 the “Patterns of Life” video have been showing at the CONTEMPORARY VENICE Art Show in the Palazzo Flangini, Venice (Italy), for one month.
Publicity
Kupalle 2016 at Canadian Slutzak
The article in Belarusian language about the event and our project.
