"In the absence of an official Belarus pavilion, the project will celebrate art that survives in spite of state censorship and surveillance to become a powerful tool for resistance. The exhibition, titled "Official. Unofficial. Belarus.," is a group show presenting work by Belarusian artists who works challenge the long-standing authoritative regime in their native country."
"Conceived and displayed like altarpieces, these works will use religious iconography to comment on contemporary threats to our privacy. Other site-specific works also play with the sacred location. Nicolai Khalezin's installation of a book display crushed by a bulldozer is a explicit comment on the perniciously destructive erasure of art in Belarus, such that the spectrum of ideas becomes gradually narrowed over time."
"Just outside the entrance, viewers will become the viewed when they pass by Surveillance Crucifixion, a cross constructed out of CCTV cameras by Daniella Kaliada and Natalia Kaliada. The work plays on a disquieting sense that there are increasingly few places still sacred from institutional attempts to observe and control."
Belarus Free Theatre, a cult-favorite art collective, is staging a landmark exhibition titled "Official. Unofficial. Belarus." at the 61st Venice Biennale, filling the absence of an official Belarus pavilion. The exhibition features work by Belarusian artists challenging their country's authoritarian regime through various artistic mediums. Sergey Grinevich's paintings use religious iconography to comment on privacy threats, while Nicolai Khalezin's installation depicts a book display crushed by a bulldozer, symbolizing art erasure. Daniella Kaliada and Natalia Kaliada's "Surveillance Crucifixion" uses CCTV cameras to critique institutional observation. Vladimir Tsesler's sculptures made from prison bars and a sound installation featuring political prisoners' testimonials occupy the neighboring cemetery. Founded in Minsk in 2005, Belarus Free Theatre has produced over 50 stage productions across 40 countries.
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