About the project
“Rules of the game” by Mariia Matiashova
Mariia Matiashova organized a group performance based on children’s street games that appeared after February 24th 2022. War games have existed since time immemorial, just as wars happen constantly and everywhere. But when martial law is here and now, the transformation of classic tag into “Putin” can be unsettling. It seems to remind us how deeply the present is permeated by this trauma. The artist uses the lens of games to look at how our society has changed from an unusual perspective. After all, beyond their playful nature, the newly emerged games reflect the situation of danger we are in. The game world simulates reality, but it is subject to its own logic. The artist asks the question: what will happen if adults replace children in this space?
During the creation of the idea for her work in progress, Mariia Matiashova conducted research and gathered information about real games with real rules during conversations with children. She chose the most “civilian” ones, which would be closer to the experience of both the performers and, in part, the audience. The author set herself and the performers the task of looking at the familiar context and reality through the lens of games. I tried to trace how differently I react to trigger (though already everyday) situations of wartime everyday life. And I realized that it’s just as hard, scary, and threatening, even when the brain is aware of the moment of imitation. The only thing that pleases and enchants is that there is no real threat in this – unlike the threat in reality, to which you have to return when the game is over.
Vita Kotyk
curator, cultural journalist, philologist
About the author
Mariia Matiashova is a multidisciplinary artist working with video, text, performance, and installation. In her work, she seeks simple yet meaningful gestures. She explores social relations, institutions, language, and collective memory. Among her works is “Repacking” – a 10-hour performance of repacking a suitcase. The work speaks about the fatigue and totality of relocations in the lives of refugees.
Video teaser
Presentations
- The first work-in-progress showing took place on August 22, 2024. Location in Kyiv, the gym of KNUTD.
Credits
Production proto produkciia
Lead producer Olga Diatel
Line Producer Yuliia Parysh
Associate Producer Iryna Onishchuk
Assistant Olga Bondarenko, Hanna Kachkovska
Communication Oleksii Havrlyliuk
Media coordination Kateryna Lukiashko
Copywriting Danylo Zenkin
Design of posters Yaroslava Kovalchuk
Photo Anastasia Telikova
Video documentation Daria Sokolova, Andrii Borodavchuk, Yaroslav Pushkarchuk
Financial management Roman Dyma, Kateryna Vandych
Supported by
The work was implemented by proto produkciia foundation and co-funded by ZMINA: Rebuilding program, created with the support of the European Union as part of a special call for proposals to support Ukrainian IDPs and the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, with the support of the IZOLYATSIA Foundation, Trans Europe Halles and Malý Berlín.