En
Maryia Hvardzeytsava’s exhibition was structured around the concept of the retablo — an iconographic format traditionally used to tell stories of survival in dangerous circumstances. The artist reinterpreted this form as a platform for exploring her multilayered identities within the context of the “Great Eight” social categories: age, gender, race, ability, class, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation.
To create the exhibition, intimate materials such as old windows, vintage mirrors, and personal photographs were used. These objects formed a captivating installation that evoked a process of “mirror thinking,” as visitors’ own reflections interacted with the artist’s narrative.
At the center of the space was a video performance in which Maryia Hvardzeytsava reinterpreted the Belarusian Christmas ritual of adoration of the goat. The performance served as a metaphor for the artist’s delicate and shifting connection to Belarusian identity, especially in light of her renunciation of citizenship in 2022, and offered an emotional exploration of how internal and external transformations shape one’s sense of belonging.
The exhibition also featured images of so-called “inner monsters” — personal symbols of self-discovery and solitude. The artist describes one of them as follows:
“My inner monster sits with loose green hair on the riverbank. It feels warm and safe. We are playful, running naked through the forest. My inner monster is my loneliness, and it tells me that I need to walk in the forest more often.”
These visions served as a channel for meditative reflection on self-identification, loss, and renewed connection with cultural and religious archetypes.
Through the compositional interplay of personal memory and historical symbolism, Hvardzeytsava created a metaphorical altar of identity, inviting viewers to reconsider their own cultural narratives and personal transformations.
Maryia Hvardzeytsava was born in Minsk and now lives and works in London, United Kingdom. Her multilayered artistic practice spans performance, installation, sculpture, and video art. Hvardzeytsava’s works often exist on the boundary between reality and mythology, addressing themes of loss, pain, feminism, and the complexities of self-definition.
