RE-SCRIPTING MINSK

re-scripting minsk

the emotional edition

forward dear minsk,

we are invisible only when no one is looking. do you do it on purpose? why do you like to hide so much. it’s been a whole week and i did everything humanely possible to attract your attention and you keep on ignoring me in a superb way. i wonder if you are an ingenue or just frigid or maybe even worse. what is it that you want? i called you the sun city and you didn’t react! i called you the make-up city and you didn’t react! i called you the unknown city and you didn’t react! i even called you the unholy city and you didn’t seem to worry or blink. you have put me on the back burner and it infuriates me because i’m a simple person who only needs to love and be loved. damn you for dragging me in the dirt i’ve never felt so small i’m not having this, i’m gonna give you all i’ve got i’m gonna make you change or maybe not or maybe i’m just as insignificant as the words i’m writing you here however be the case i’m not gonna retreat and i’m not gonna surrender i’m gonna make you notice me you’re gonna feel my presence i’m gonna tag you all over i’m gonna give you all the hickeys that you’ve been so carefully avoiding i’m gonna be loud and you’re gonna hear it i’m angry and i’m gonna make you angry! maybe then, just then, you’ll grant me a glance a little moment of attention to tell you what i’ve been wanting to say to tell you that i love you and that i’m longing for you to love me

table of content

the sun city

the unholy city

the make-up city the unknown city

minsk mental maps

minsk mental maps the sun city the unholy city the make-up city the unknown city

RE-SCRIPTING MINSK we’re always looking at cities through the lenses of locals and the first timers.

A mix of well grounded feelings and naïveté that creates stories that are delightful to hear.

A city is as good as the dreams and desires it arouses through a web of complex stories and narrations.

The focus was on collecting these narrations and re-scripting the urban cityscape in graphic stories punctuated by newly found myths.

The group went to the four corners of Minsk and downed their impressions on canvas.

We give you a new set of stories on Minsk, lies and emotions, love and deceit, trick or treat.

A new poetic and emotional identity in the making for a city that wants to be on the map again with a substantial twist.

minsk mental maps

the sun city

the official soviet sun city puts an accent on good and evil by framing the white obvious good things and hiding the black dodgy areas

the unholy city

the unholy city is a totally new way of mapping the city scape using apps and real life experiences. this is where grinder and tinder cross paths with streetwalkers and cruisers

the unholy city of desire and lust

the make-up city

the make-up city is an attempt to give minsk a PID poetic identity instead of the regular CID corporate identity that most cities are adopting nowadays. it is a way of exploring minsk using creative narration mixed with local mythes and observations. through the naive eyes of the newcomers and the expert eyes of the residents.

the unknown city

the unknown city is non place. generated by the post soviet void. every city in the former USSR modeled an identity. minsk on the other hand still struggles to find its place on the map

In the unknown city among concrete monuments, in the center of this dirty city, lives an old city-witch Baba Yaga creating a giant babylonian forest.

Anna, 35 years old, a waitress at the private university in Minsk I moved to Minsk less than a year ago, in June 2015. My first impressions were connected with pines: there were so many high pines and clean green meadows. It looked like a picture.

And I really like the people, they’re calm, polite and… simple.

I want my children to live in such a culture. I’m from Vladikavkaz, but I used to live in Uzbekistan for a long time. People are also good in Uzbekistan, but we have different cultures. I like that there are many soviet buildings in Minsk. I was a pioneer, used to wear a red tie. I had really happy soviet childhood with no Internet connection. What I really like about Minsk is that while you’re walking you’re recalling your stories.

What can I say about Minsk, living there for almost a year?

Sometimes I think Government doesn’t really care about people. I don’t want to say it’s bad, just it’s difficult for simple people to live, I mean people without high education. There is much work, but it’s not well-paid. But I like how teachers take care of pupils. At least I feel that my children are in safe and I don’t have to worry when they’re at school.

when you visit a new place, new city-if you do it only for a couple of days, it ends up exploring mainly a city centergoing through a few historic and important places marked in the guide. Personally i hate this scenario- I always have a sense of just touching the surface, that the real fun waits somewhere on a suburbs- between tiny streets - at places known only by locals. That‘s why I always try be somewhere for longer and get the opportunity to know the city deeper.

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In Minsk we are only for a short period of time but still we decided to go and hunt- to find something under coverage. We randomly took a bus which was leading to the south part of the City. Despite the fact that my companion- Vera- is Belarusian - for both of us this is completely new and strange city- full of blocks and cars- like a huge sea- around the city center- never ending blocks- that is why we were quit afraid even- that we will not able to find anything interesting.

Getting off to a random station immediately we were in front of old and quit impressive building. We could not enter the inside - the building is under renovation- but we managed to get some information from a security guy- it is an old airport- built in 1957 However, today is processed on office building and prevent mostly because of architectural value. This would be it if we haven‘t noticed the building which was next to the previous one. In 1976 they added a new building which hosted the offices and waiting room. This one is a big opposition to the previous one- also when it comes to the architecture style, condition and position.

Nobody cares to renovate this one- its somehow completely forgotten.

What we found there exceeded all our expectations - in the old terminal now it‘s hosted the largest door-shop I had ever seen in my live.

It is not a modern construction supermarket - door that you can find there are in every condition and size- new and „second hand“- normal but also too low and too narrow- gray as well as super-colorful, in this shop were definitely few of sellers but we knew it just by hearing voices- after entering inside we quickly found out that this is a kind of maze- corridors, alleys, dead ends- all done with the doors. Than deeper, than the greater was the sense that entrance here should be forbidden, that our present there is not right- but we could find anyone to even be kicked out- maze was just more and more complicated. In every turn we could find something unexpected- storage of lumber that was creating amazing atmosphere/ old baskets / books/ cheers- and in the center the spindle - In that moment with Vera we got a feeling that continuance of our trip will be a kind of a strange dream and door kingdom is the gateway to that new world.

When we have finally left a building- to the end without any contact with the sellers - we have backed to civilization and grey reality of Minsk‘s suburbs. Fortunately feeling of disappointment vanished very quickly. Soon enough in front of our eyes was real village in the middle of blocks-ocean. The scale of this phenomenon was unbelievable- whole structure- the building of mayor, small church, the central square and gardens in front of houses.

From the 3 sides village is surrounded by blocks. The fourth curtain is formed by huge bypass and crazy traffic- it could be kind of oasis except that in each meter you can feel that city is just around the corner- waiting to eat this whole rest of old world.

Even people who lives there are a bit fake- their lifestyle is slower, they told us that they are cultivates traditions and locals habits but- its a fight without any hope, they already know that it soon need to be finished- especially that on another side- during the construction is the most modern and futuristic residential area in whole country- THE MINSK WORLD-skyscraper, and organic tower as international as it can be in 21st century.

with this feeling of despondency we moved - again back to what is here known as normal- and now it took us much longer- accumulating sense of sadness and resignation.

But when it was the greyest and cars and the noise was almost unbearable- succeeded on the main road appeared a small field lane- along it we were able to come to the paradise.

Finally, we have found true oasis- place to which the city itself had no entrance-the Park- which is just a dirt-wild greenery around Svislach river- no regular paths- no houses and fences- just water, fields and trees- it is a space big enough to see only this crazy empire of green.

Both of us were amazed- and somehow felt like at homesuddenly i felt connected wth this Slavic Country- just like my ownand for Vera it was true Belarus- the real essence of this country.

And in the end we could feel in love in a city- That this lack of a city in a city make it the most beautiful for us. It was the fern which we were looking for in TERRA INCOGNITA.

colophon basil salomon helfenstein lives every week as it is shark week joanna lewanska likes surprises karolina tatar is always on the road anton muravliev is one day interviewer, one day illustrator and one day street artist aliaksandra svirelina is always in search of her way veronica paniznik’s ideas come to her at the last moment marina fedorovsky would like to change the world with drawings and words anastasiya kuts just needs a moment rani al rajji is always telling half true stories and ends up believing them.

this work was produced on location during the course of sesam (terra incognita) 2016. we would like to thank sesam for making this work possible, it was fun to discover minsk with all of you. no animals were hurt or killed during this workshop.

colophon basil salomon helfenstein lives every week as it is shark week joanna lewanska likes surprises karolina tatar is always on the road anton morauliou is one day interviewer, one day illustrator and one day street artist aliaksandra svirelina is always in search of her way veronica paniznik’s ideas come to her at the last moment marina fedorovsky would like to change the world with drawings and words anastasiya kuts just needs a moment rani al rajji is always telling half true stories and ends up believing them.