Daria Pugachova

“I want to see art that is simple and direct, so it can open your heart.”

Most of my projects are happening in real life — I perform outside of the galleries, to unite people and bring changes in our living environments. It’s hard to exhibit these works, usually, galleries are not interested in performance art or performances that were already done in the past. Performances are not for sale, and this is not a new work that the gallery could commission and put their name on it. Nevertheless, I believe that even the videos of performances could inspire people of different backgrounds to be creative and transform spaces around them. That’s why I want to bring my art to a wider audience. I want my art to live longer than the moment of performance when it was made.

I returned to my hometown of Rivne to perform in the destroyed Thumbelina fountain, a place of my childhood memories and dreams. I slept in the fountain while people could enter the space and fill it with life: to paint on the walls, read a fairy tale, sing a song, or fill in the questionnaire about the future of the fountain. After two days, the depressing image of the fountain had completely transformed. It turned into a stage, a place of freedom and expression, where everyone who entered the fountain was considered an artist. During two days we collected about 300 questionnaires in which people of all ages shared their memories of Thumbelina and expressed their visions of its future. Finally, the mayor of Rivne promised to repair the fountain in 2022. However, these plans were not realized -- Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, and the Thumbelina fountain remains ruined till now.

I see a lot of emptiness in the art world, I see a lot of forms and a lack of meaning. This emptiness should be filled with the works of artists who have something to say. The artists who make changes, the artist who dare to dive into life and share their stories, their pains and struggles, and their dreams. I want to see artists who are brave enough to speak about their work, and not just hide behind complicated explanations, the words, that even they could not understand. I want to see the artists as children. I want to see art that is simple and direct, so it can open your heart.

I do performances in public spaces. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, most of them were happening in Ukraine. And since the war started, I performed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Azerbaijan, and delivered my workshops in Austria and Norway. Those projects were happening in public spaces in war-related locations and were part of the art programs, residencies, or festivals. My next performance will happen in Sofia, Bulgaria in September 2023, and it will be a socially engaged piece about the future of Ukraine, gaining personal and political freedom.

Homepage → www.dariapugachova.space