When: 25 March 17:00 – 20:00
Where: ARTTEN GALLERY, ARTILLERIGATAN 10, STOCKHOLM
The exhibition Roses of Ties: A Manual for Getting Imprisoned in Belarus consists of a video work and a participatory workshop.
The video follows the hands of Belarusians living in exile. They are folding neckties into roses. The faces are never shown because their families remain in Belarus and are still at risk.
The dictatorship monitors our faces, our voices, and our activities abroad. Speaking our native language is suppressed, and even expressing support for Ukraine in the form of Roses of Ties can be treated as a criminal act.
In Belarus, dictatorship is measured not only in the growing number of political prisoners, but also in broken lives. It has created a wounded society where almost every citizen has either been imprisoned or knows someone who has. Repression has become a shared experience.
Roses of Ties are often created quietly, almost underground, as acts of resistance, hope, and memory. In these gatherings, Belarusians form communities where they can finally speak their language freely and use the colors forbidden in their country – red and white. Each rose carries a quiet message: even under repression, solidarity and dignity continue to grow.
During the workshops, participants are invited to bring a tie connected to their family stories – stories of human rights violations, dictatorship, loss, or memory – and transform it into a rose to wear close to the heart.
