Palianina / Bianchi: SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME, MOM

The tragic death of George Floyd by police violence and the media coverage, which ensued, traumatized me and further millions of human beings. I processed such dismay into a short piece initially conceived for the Murten Festival of summer 2020. I was not only concerned with racial discrimination but also with oppression and brutality in general. The original piece's dedication is: "to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and the black community continuing to endure oppression and brutality."

At Christine's initiative to elaborate a cultural action concerning the 2020 Belarussia's Fall events, I looked at that music work again, finding a common, viscid thread on how oppression keeps profligating in our times. When Maria Kalesnikava, who I knew well from the Eclat Festival, was arrested, it quickly became clear that the Belarusian government expected the "time factor" to play a role and that media interest would wane. All the more critical hence are cultural activities that keep the discourse alive.

I joined forces in tandem with the Belarusian artist Vasilisa Palianina.

In our work," SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME, MOM," we sought police troops' image in full riot gear and balaclavas, representing the omnipresent violent threat in Belarus and comparable conflicts. The anonymity provided by the Balaclava symbolizes the loss of transparency, accountability as an institutionalized form of power and oppression.

In our homage to Masha, the Balaclava becomes a perverse metaphor of cruelty, a literal symbol of lack of transparency, accountability. It is a tool that, if on the ground, unleashes the most virulent and barbarian force humans are capable of, on a social level, becomes the very inception of endemic corruption. (2021/01/31 Oscar Bianchi)

images: Vasilisa Palianina
music: Oscar Bianchi

Ensemble Paul Klee:
Ivan Nestic, Kontrabass
Barnabás Völgyes, Bass Klarinette
Camille Sublet, Piano