About the project
“Untitled” by Sasha Kurmaz
Sasha Kurmaz presented “Untitled”. How did the idea and concept of the project arise? On August 24, 2023, the Kyiv police reported that they had detained two sisters who were dancing on the graves of fallen soldiers. The girls explained their actions by saying that they wanted to honor the memory of the fallen defenders in this way. The public reaction to this news was quite aggressive. People were outraged by the fact that the girls dared to express their feelings through dance in such a sacred place as a cemetery. This event greatly interested the author of the performance and prompted them to reflect on the movement of the body as a possible form of honoring the dead.
Researching the cultural traditions of different peoples of the world, it turns out that the practice of honoring the dead through dance is not something new. And in general, dance and death quite often exist very close to each other. The first thing that comes to mind is the widespread motif in Western European fine art “Dance Macabre,” the ritual choreography of the African collective “Dancing Pallbearers,” the ritual dance “Semah” in Turkey, or “Danza de los Viejitos” in Mexico. Each culture has its own approach to honoring grief and mourning. Moreover, if we look at ourselves, we will see that the inhabitants of the Carpathians had a tradition of pre-funeral ritual merriment, also known as “grushky.” When fellow villagers gathered near the deceased and joked, laughed, played the flute, sang songs, and danced. Similar customs were widespread not only in the Carpathians but also in Pokuttia, Pidhirtsi, in the lowland regions of Bukovina and Transcarpathia, and partly in Podillya.
Actually, reflections on death and dance led to the creation of a collective performative action in collaboration with professional performers.
About the author
Sasha Kurmaz is a multidisciplinary artist who works at the intersection of various genres and media, including photography, video, collaborative practices, and interventions in public spaces. In his artistic practice, he explores different models of interaction with urban space and social groups. In the focus of his works: city, society, its development, and transformations. Kurmaz has participated in numerous international exhibitions and festivals, and their work has been presented at Zamek Ujazdowski (Poland), Künstlerhaus Vienna (Austria), ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art (Germany), Centrum för fotografi (Sweden), Latvian Museum of Photography (Latvia), Format Festival (UK), Museum de Fundatie (Netherlands), DOX Centre for Contemporary Art (Czech Republic), Centre Photographique Marseille (France), Albertinum (Germany), and many others.
Video teaser
Presentations
- The presentation took place on February 25, 2024, at the Business center LUWR, Kyiv.
- On November 24, 2024, the performance was presented in Lauenburg, Germany, with the support of the Ukrainian Institute.
- On May 24, 2025, a performance was presented in Kyiv as part of the “Performing Memory” project.
- On July 4, 2025, the performance was presented at the open-air museum Arte Sella, located in the village of Villa Strobele in northern Italy. The presentation is part of the Performing Memory project.
- September 19 to 21, 2025 the performance will be shown six times as part of the program of the Dublin Fringe Festival in Ireland: at the site of the demolished Old Bandstand in Fairview Park and at the amphitheatre next to Dublin City Council. The presentation is part of the Performing Memory project.
Additional materials
Credits
Production proto produkciia
Lead producer Olga Diatel
Executive producer Volodymyr Burkovets
Associate Producers Yuliia Parysh, Alona Odarenko, Iryna Onishchuk
Assistant Nata Zelenska, Sofiia Levchenkova
Communication Olga Diatel
Media coordination Kateryna Lukiashko
Design of posters Yaroslava Kovalchuk
Photo Anastasia Telikova
Video documentation Daria Sokolova, Andrii Borodavchuk, Yaroslav Pushkarchuk
Financial management Liliia Pylatiuk, Roman Dyma
Supported by
The work was implemented by proto produkciia in partnership with the GT Foundation from Romania with financial support from Culture of Solidarity Fund funded by the European Cultural Foundation.