The road from Kiev to Kanev takes two and a half hours by bus. If you drive your own car, you can fit in two. The “rocket” boat covered the distance in three to four hours - in the past, because now there is no shipping in this direction.
On July 20, 2019, an eight-meter yacht moored from Kyiv with four people on board. Among them are the captain, the artist, the photographer and the cameraman. They reached the Kaniv gates only the next day. Although, in fact, their journey turned out to be much longer — it continues today and may not end in a few months.
The artist on the ship was Alexander Babak, the photographer - Igor Okunevsky, the cameraman - Svetlana Zinovyeva. The captain was symbolically called the Carrier. Rafting the Dnipro is part of Babak's art project, whose name is quite eloquent: “River”. And the impetus for the embodiment of this creative idea was one small and concise drawing of Taras Shevchenko.
If we talk about the visual-aesthetic connection of Shevchenko and Kanev, then vivid images were already formed after the death and reburial of the artist: a number of monuments on Chernecy Mountain, a fragment of the “Testament” engraved in the school with “... the heifers of the broad polimas, and the Dnieper, and the cliffs...”, numerous (and at the same time identical) portraits of Shevchenko in the Kanev Museum named after him. But how do you deal with the own views of this iconic figure?
Shevchenko made one drawing, which he signed “Circle of Kanev”. This was in 1859, two years before his death and reburial in Kaniv. The drawing is similar to a road sketch, so it can hardly claim the status of an independent work of art. For future research, that's a whole lot.
Therefore, the role of the initial impetus for Oleksandr Babak in his own project was played by this drawing, and with it the very idea of Taras Shevchenko's last journey from Kiev to Kanev. How did everything develop further, what was the first concept transformed into? We spoke with Alexander a few days after his return to Kiev to learn more about the upcoming series “Rika”.
The concept of Shevchenko is a limitation and an opportunity at the same time. When you have already determined the theme of the project, then you try to select everything thematically. I sought to free myself from my first impressions, to forget that I was going with the task of doing something. This series of my works will be about everyone who leaves a certain place. Therefore, I am interested in the image of the Carrier, our captain. Of course, this is mythological: the idea with the river and the ancient Greek Charon lies on the surface.
I never thought that I would undertake the honor of any figure. This is the first time. You need to look at Shevchenko not as an idol, but as an ordinary person. More importantly, think about who you are. If you want to dedicate a job to someone, dedicate it to yourself. Then you can not stoop. When you do something for yourself, you are not trying to create “beautiful” or “witty”. You will not go anywhere, you will have to do the truth.
It is not difficult for me to move away from the cult of Shevchenko, because I never planned to do a real dedication to him. But to dedicate a thing to ourselves and to each of us is good.
Taras Grigorovich himself was an excellent artist. I think that in the case of two artists with academic education, some artistic decisions will equally coincide, as will the mood. What I drew for myself, he would mark in the same way. It's a matter of the experienced eye of a person with education. It is different from the eye of an amateur, even if it is a brilliant artist. Education absorbs certain moments, whether you want it or not. And then we focus on similar things.
The two days of our trip were completely different in terms of weather. The first day is full of calm and heat. On the second day — stormy waves, strong wind, restless sky. I found interesting points, made sketches — there are about twenty already. Especially attracted the atmosphere of alienation from the world, loneliness, the sameness of landscapes.
The photographer and the operator recorded the chronology of the process as it all happened. The road film of Svetlana Zinovieva should enter the final exhibition of the project “Rika”.
In addition to painting works, I plan to do graphic things in etching. I haven't worked in this technique for a long time. But this is also an update, because when I am not very skillful in doing something, then at first such things always turn out beautifully. As a monumentalist, I find it difficult to do small things. Therefore, on the etching machine, and with paints, I will create large formats.
We all lose the place we once despaired from and then move in an unknown direction. It's good if “Rika” will cause people to think about their personal path. In the end, the road to the river is not only about death (and in the case of Shevchenko's reburial, and with ancient myths), but also about the life that preceded everything.
Oleksandr Babak worked on the series “Rika” within the framework of the Kanev Art Residence “KrasneChorne”.
Author of the material: Polina Limina
