PROJECT BY PAVEL BRAT
Garden of Eden
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Dedicated to my brother,
whom I never saw,
whom I never knew,
who died before I was born,
whom I replaced in this world...
There is no point in describing all the details of the tragedy of the life and fate of a child who bears the heavy burden of such a trauma on his shoulders. The psychological trauma of the "replacement child". This phenomenon is fully described in the book of the same name by psychotherapist Morris Poro (L'enfant de remplacement). Not long ago, I read the contents of this scientific work and was amazed. Everything that I was able to process independently with my creativity, my independent art therapy, appeared before my eyes as an ordered text. Everything that I thought up myself and everything that I had not yet been able to discover completed the complete picture of my perception of the world. The picture of my struggle for survival in this world.
I learned such cases from the stories of great people, researched from their memoirs, to clinical cases described in the reports of psychotherapists. I realized how lucky I was. I realized that my life could have been completely different if I had not taken up art.
However, as soon as I learned to walk, I began to visit the family cemetery in the pine forest with my parents every Orthodox Easter. Every Easter I looked at the small grave, without a photo, on which my full name was written. Every Easter I bought a toy, candy and a glass of water for the small metal monument. Every Easter I left and saw from afar how these symbolic gifts were taken away
As you can see, I changed my family name "Ryzhkov" and even the style of writing my name from "Pasha" to "Pavel". At first, I did it completely intuitively, for completely different reasons, which I considered accidental. My pseudonym became my official name. My childhood trauma became my conscious path.
…
All my work before I got to the Montenegrin art residence was filled with themes of death and Orthodox rituals. Stylized icons, stylized rituals, stylized monuments, stylized pine forest moss, stylized crosses, stylized crucifixes, stylized bodies, bodies, bodies… Non-living bodies made of paper. Paper bodies that I animated with water.
(1987-2019)
I learned such cases from the stories of great people, researched from their memoirs, to clinical cases described in the reports of psychotherapists. I realized how lucky I was. I realized that my life could have been completely different if I had not taken up art.
However, as soon as I learned to walk, I began to visit the family cemetery in the pine forest with my parents every Orthodox Easter. Every Easter I looked at the small grave, without a photo, on which my full name was written. Every Easter I bought a toy, candy and a glass of water for the small metal monument. Every Easter I left and saw from afar how these symbolic gifts were taken away
As you can see, I changed my family name "Ryzhkov" and even the style of writing my name from "Pasha" to "Pavel". At first, I did it completely intuitively, for completely different reasons, which I considered accidental. My pseudonym became my official name. My childhood trauma became my conscious path.
…
All my work before I got to the Montenegrin art residence was filled with themes of death and Orthodox rituals. Stylized icons, stylized rituals, stylized monuments, stylized pine forest moss, stylized crosses, stylized crucifixes, stylized bodies, bodies, bodies… Non-living bodies made of paper. Paper bodies that I animated with water.
(1987-2019)
The project that will be discussed below began with a chance find high in the mountains. I went on another expedition to the mountains. I collected seeds of wild plants, collecting them for compositions and thinking about being cut off from the earth (I was cut off and in political exile), about the life they produce and the death they convey to the parent plants. I was looking for real flowers, but found artificial ones.
I was making my way through the Balkan jungle along the fence of a small cemetery and saw artificial bouquets. They were thrown over the fence like trash because they had faded in the sun and were worn out in the wind. I thought that this was an interesting material and collected a whole bag of them (they had been thrown over the fence for many years).
I brought them home, took them apart into individual petals, washed them, dried them and collected them into garlands. Garlands similar to Hawaiian ones. Before that, I had only worked with paper and the project with seeds was supposed to end this creative impasse. The impasse of the medium of art and artistic language. The seeds of wild Montenegrin plants became the transition to artificial flowers.
From the wreaths that people are seen off on their final journey in the Orthodox tradition, I made wreaths that are greeted on the Hawaiian Islands. For the first time in my life, I made a maximally conceptual project. In it, the concept (instructions for creation) was primary and more important than the final form. It was a real work of art. It was my conscious transition to a new level. It was something that only I understood. For many, these were products made from garbage…
(2017-2021)
I was making my way through the Balkan jungle along the fence of a small cemetery and saw artificial bouquets. They were thrown over the fence like trash because they had faded in the sun and were worn out in the wind. I thought that this was an interesting material and collected a whole bag of them (they had been thrown over the fence for many years).
I brought them home, took them apart into individual petals, washed them, dried them and collected them into garlands. Garlands similar to Hawaiian ones. Before that, I had only worked with paper and the project with seeds was supposed to end this creative impasse. The impasse of the medium of art and artistic language. The seeds of wild Montenegrin plants became the transition to artificial flowers.
From the wreaths that people are seen off on their final journey in the Orthodox tradition, I made wreaths that are greeted on the Hawaiian Islands. For the first time in my life, I made a maximally conceptual project. In it, the concept (instructions for creation) was primary and more important than the final form. It was a real work of art. It was my conscious transition to a new level. It was something that only I understood. For many, these were products made from garbage…
(2017-2021)
I returned to my hometown of Voronezh at the very beginning of 2021, and already in the fall I received a very interesting offer. On October 15, a talented choreographer and director Olga Vasilyeva called me. We had known each other since my work in St. Petersburg, she followed my social networks and life.
She said that she had an interesting idea for a choreographic performance about Adam and Eve. She said: "We have no budget and no fee, but we have a beautiful boy and a beautiful girl, they are dancers..." - this is how brilliant projects begin.
I said that the situation with money suits me, but in this case I will do what I want, without discussion, becoming not an artist-designer, but an artist-director. I suggested making a paradise garden from those "Hawaiian garlands from the cemetery." Olga liked it. I started working.
The work began in October. At that time, the political situation was already alarming and everything was preparing for war. Russia's war against Ukraine. Tanks, armored vehicles and trucks with soldiers were moving through our city - large-scale military exercises were taking place. All this left its mark on my work. I was focused and ready to work day and night.
I went to specialized garbage dumps along cemeteries and collected artificial flowers. I hid them in bags in the forest and transported them home. I took them apart into petals, washed, dried and strung them on a fishing line. I made 950 meters of garlands and collected 80 kg of petals to scatter on the floor. I needed 100 euros for all the decorations: fishing line, garbage bags, washing powder, plastic straws for cocktails. I did everything alone, with my own hands. It was a real challenge. I don't think an online translator can fully translate all my feelings and emotions.
I collected the last details of the scenery a couple of days before the war began. I was in a hurry. I didn't know what would happen next and whether I would be able to work at all. No one knew anything for sure, but I understood everything. The details of my last trip to the cemetery under the roar of military fighters are worthy of a separate story. I will write about it later.
(2021-2022)
She said that she had an interesting idea for a choreographic performance about Adam and Eve. She said: "We have no budget and no fee, but we have a beautiful boy and a beautiful girl, they are dancers..." - this is how brilliant projects begin.
I said that the situation with money suits me, but in this case I will do what I want, without discussion, becoming not an artist-designer, but an artist-director. I suggested making a paradise garden from those "Hawaiian garlands from the cemetery." Olga liked it. I started working.
The work began in October. At that time, the political situation was already alarming and everything was preparing for war. Russia's war against Ukraine. Tanks, armored vehicles and trucks with soldiers were moving through our city - large-scale military exercises were taking place. All this left its mark on my work. I was focused and ready to work day and night.
I went to specialized garbage dumps along cemeteries and collected artificial flowers. I hid them in bags in the forest and transported them home. I took them apart into petals, washed, dried and strung them on a fishing line. I made 950 meters of garlands and collected 80 kg of petals to scatter on the floor. I needed 100 euros for all the decorations: fishing line, garbage bags, washing powder, plastic straws for cocktails. I did everything alone, with my own hands. It was a real challenge. I don't think an online translator can fully translate all my feelings and emotions.
I collected the last details of the scenery a couple of days before the war began. I was in a hurry. I didn't know what would happen next and whether I would be able to work at all. No one knew anything for sure, but I understood everything. The details of my last trip to the cemetery under the roar of military fighters are worthy of a separate story. I will write about it later.
(2021-2022)
Exactly two weeks after the start of the war, we met at the «Stanciya» residence in Kostroma. We had to assemble the visual part and the choreographic part into a single composition and present it at the end of the residence. For the first time in seven years, I met Olga Vasilyeva and got acquainted with the performers: Yuliana Anfimova and Maxim Klochnev. Later, sound designer Daria Ivaschenko (Daria Anzherskaya) and lighting designer Ksenia Koteneva joined our small team.
For the first time, I saw my work assembled together in a large black hall. Until that moment, I had only collected ready-made garlands in bags and hid them in the next room. For the first time, I saw a choreographic drama. We did not have full-fledged lighting and full-fledged sound design, but it was already amazing. I could not hold back my tears. I sat in the darkness of the hall and experienced the most genuine catharsis of my life drama.
We agreed not to reveal the essence of the concept of the scenery in presentations and applications for theaters. It was a necessary sacrifice. If we had talked about deep meanings, we could have encountered misunderstanding and refusals. Our modern society is striving for traditionalist ideas and protects the "feelings of believers" with a special law. (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 148. Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion. "... for public actions expressing obvious disrespect for society and committed with the purpose of insulting the religious feelings of believers, provides for punishment from a fine to one year of imprisonment. After this, the law on insulting the feelings of believers came into effect.")
I think that the description of the interaction of such an idea and the surrounding modern society in Russia is a separate philosophical work. I was not against such positioning, since it correlated well with my view on working through personal history and personal trauma. As in this site, as in my life, this is what is hidden in the depths, in the darkness, underground.
Not many people learned about the idea and the way the scenery was created: some of the viewers who stayed for discussions after the performance.
We tried three times through various social connections to find places to show "Adam and Eve" in my hometown of Voronezh, but were refused. These refusals were the result of my inclusion in the regional list of banned artists in the territory of the Russian Federation due to my anti-war statements
Thanks to the efforts of Olga Vasilyeva and her managerial skills, we were able to show the choreographic performance "Adam and Eve" at various festivals and venues in Arkhangelsk (Arkhangelsk Drama Theater named after M.V. Lomonosov / festival "Prikosnovenie"), Novosibirsk (Novosibirsk State Drama Theater "Old House" / festival "Gravity"), Yekaterinburg (Yekaterinburg Theater of Contemporary Choreography "Provincial Dances"), Moscow (Moscow Jewish Theater "Shalom") and St. Petersburg (New Stage of the National Drama Alexandrinsky Theater).
"Adam and Eve" was nominated for the national theater award Golden Mask 2022 in five nominations: CONTEMPORARY DANCE / PERFORMANCE, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / WORK OF A BALLETMASTER-CHOREOGRAPHER, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / FEMALE ROLE, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / MALE ROLE, WORK OF A ARTIST IN A MUSICAL THEATRE.
The last show took place in Novosibirsk in the fall of 2023. In the spring of 2024, we learned about the breakdown of relations between the main performers and, at the same time, the impossibility of further participation in the project. The project of the performance was closed.
(2022-2024)
For the first time, I saw my work assembled together in a large black hall. Until that moment, I had only collected ready-made garlands in bags and hid them in the next room. For the first time, I saw a choreographic drama. We did not have full-fledged lighting and full-fledged sound design, but it was already amazing. I could not hold back my tears. I sat in the darkness of the hall and experienced the most genuine catharsis of my life drama.
We agreed not to reveal the essence of the concept of the scenery in presentations and applications for theaters. It was a necessary sacrifice. If we had talked about deep meanings, we could have encountered misunderstanding and refusals. Our modern society is striving for traditionalist ideas and protects the "feelings of believers" with a special law. (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 148. Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion. "... for public actions expressing obvious disrespect for society and committed with the purpose of insulting the religious feelings of believers, provides for punishment from a fine to one year of imprisonment. After this, the law on insulting the feelings of believers came into effect.")
I think that the description of the interaction of such an idea and the surrounding modern society in Russia is a separate philosophical work. I was not against such positioning, since it correlated well with my view on working through personal history and personal trauma. As in this site, as in my life, this is what is hidden in the depths, in the darkness, underground.
Not many people learned about the idea and the way the scenery was created: some of the viewers who stayed for discussions after the performance.
We tried three times through various social connections to find places to show "Adam and Eve" in my hometown of Voronezh, but were refused. These refusals were the result of my inclusion in the regional list of banned artists in the territory of the Russian Federation due to my anti-war statements
Thanks to the efforts of Olga Vasilyeva and her managerial skills, we were able to show the choreographic performance "Adam and Eve" at various festivals and venues in Arkhangelsk (Arkhangelsk Drama Theater named after M.V. Lomonosov / festival "Prikosnovenie"), Novosibirsk (Novosibirsk State Drama Theater "Old House" / festival "Gravity"), Yekaterinburg (Yekaterinburg Theater of Contemporary Choreography "Provincial Dances"), Moscow (Moscow Jewish Theater "Shalom") and St. Petersburg (New Stage of the National Drama Alexandrinsky Theater).
"Adam and Eve" was nominated for the national theater award Golden Mask 2022 in five nominations: CONTEMPORARY DANCE / PERFORMANCE, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / WORK OF A BALLETMASTER-CHOREOGRAPHER, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / FEMALE ROLE, BALLET-CONTEMPORARY DANCE / MALE ROLE, WORK OF A ARTIST IN A MUSICAL THEATRE.
The last show took place in Novosibirsk in the fall of 2023. In the spring of 2024, we learned about the breakdown of relations between the main performers and, at the same time, the impossibility of further participation in the project. The project of the performance was closed.
(2022-2024)
However, the biblical story continued. Now the Garden of Eden will exist alone, without Adam and Eve, as in the Old Testament. I plan to show this flower jungle at various sites and work on increasing the scale. I need to do the restoration and remodeling of this object.
I see this project as an endless story and I want to continue walking around cemeteries and picking flowers. I want to make the installation huge and a real forest. All the money that I will receive from the sale of paper souvenirs, I will invest in it. This is my mission. Many years later, I returned to the cemetery as an adult and realized that I was healed.
(2024-…)
I see this project as an endless story and I want to continue walking around cemeteries and picking flowers. I want to make the installation huge and a real forest. All the money that I will receive from the sale of paper souvenirs, I will invest in it. This is my mission. Many years later, I returned to the cemetery as an adult and realized that I was healed.
(2024-…)