From St.
Petersburg to Tbilisi, through art and exile, Leda Garina is a feminist artist and activist who has turned her flight from Russia into an extreme type of resistance.Founder of the feminist cultural task Eves Ribs, she has utilized body, language and paradox to challenge authoritarianism, patriarchy and war.In this interview, Garina, who left to Georgia in 2022, discusses her commitment to opposing Russian militarism, her review of imperialism, the need of provoking through art and the importance of communication as a political act.I do not want to be a quiet survivor, she states.
Id rather be a voice that demands being heard, even if that comes at a risk.Is war the main issue in Russia today?Absolutely.
For years, we combated on lots of fronts ecological issues, womens rights, flexibility of expression but today, everything is eclipsed by the war device.
If we really wish to stay connected to Russian society, we require to deconstruct its darkest core: militarism and imperialism.
The narrative of Great Russia, of military power, is a harmful fiction.
It just serves to validate internal repression and external aggression.According to Leda, this ideological building and construction is not brand-new it is rooted in Russias colonial history.
Through our artistic efficiencies and interaction channels, we try to get people to assess how the concept of an empire legitimized to destroy, rule over and eliminate the independence of other nations came to be.
We are not an excellent nation.
We are a nation that developed itself by removing others.Leda speaks to clarity, however also with noticeable pain: Those who decline to recognize Russian imperialism select not to see it.
However its there in every war, every repressive law, every act of conquest disguised as national pride.
For her, cultural deconstruction is a required foundation for any political opposition.
We can not fight for civil liberties without taking apart the power structures that methodically reject them, in your home and abroad.
War is the sign, not the disease.A setup in Moscow by Eves Ribs.
The banner showed in a public building checks out: Your flowers will sprout on the tomb of the patriarch.
This intriguing action combines feminist significance and anti-patriarchal review as part of a more comprehensive anti-war visual technique that confronts state stories through poetic resistance.
Courtesy of Leda GarinaWhat role do feminism and art play in resistance?Fundamental.
Feminist advocacy formed me it conserved me.In St.
Petersburg, Leda founded the regions just independent feminist area, where she spent 8 years organizing festivals, workshops, lectures and instructional events.
[Eves Ribs] was open to everyone, free of charge, constructed with care.
But after the invasion of Ukraine, I understood we needed to expand our focus: it was no longer adequate to fight just against cultural patriarchy.
We also needed to challenge the armed patriarchy, which today is called war.Leda does not separate art from activism.
On the contrary, she thinks every creative gesture is political.
The issue is that many activists today stop at expressing anger, without instructions.
We see symbolic actions, however theres no real method.
If we want to alter something, we have to be all set to offer something up.Its the exact same with other social struggles, like climate modification.
Everybody discuss conserving the world, however no one wishes to give up their cars, flights or conveniences.
To truly change, wed have to reconsider our everyday practices, even the most intimate ones.
But the system we live in has actually trained us to be lazy.
We prefer to think remained in control instead of welcome uncertainty and make tough choices.Leda observes that political art frequently stops at the surface.
Lots of actions seem provocative, but leave no trace.
I desire my art to really disrupt.
When I receive insults or angry responses, I know Ive struck a nerve.
If no one gets upset, then you havent said anything worth listening to.
Art is an act of war versus indifference.How can Russian people be moved to a broader reflection?Thats the concern that haunts me most.
Many individuals inside Russia claim to be versus the war, but extremely couple of are genuinely willing to take dangers.
A lot of choose a post or a hashtag on social media.
Theres this concept that holding a moral position suffices to feel on the right side.
However if youre not going to risk something your task, your security, your liberty then youre not really resisting.Leda recounts an emblematic minute that she says taken place after a TV interview: An elderly lady came near me and whispered, You were impolite you disrupted a man.
She didnt care what I said, simply that I broke the guidelines.
Thats the catastrophe: type matters more than truth.Even amongst extreme groups, she has actually seen fear override action.
When in Moscow, I proposed a concrete strategy to release an apprehended activist.
They informed me we required at least 100 people.
Just 4 wanted to take the threat.
Everybody else chosen posters and performances.
Its like weve convinced ourselves that looking great suffices to be good.To her, even many protests in Europe ring hollow.
A march in a European capital, holding a No to War indication, isnt dissent.
Its a workout in moral health.
I respect it, but its inadequate.
Its more about not feeling complicit than about altering anything.
It does not shake anybody.
And amongst younger people, she adds, inertia is more powerful than anger.
Possibly since nobody ever actually taught us what disobedience means.A feminist anti-war setup in the Moscow Metro by Eves Ribs: My daddy returned from the war without legs and now states he would rather have passed away.
Installed anonymously in public spaces, this work combines personal injury with political dissent, evoking the costs of militarism and the legacy of previous wars still impacting Russian households today.Courtesy of Leda GarinaAnd exile? Can you actually speak of liberty outside Russia?Theres no genuinely safe place in the world, she says.
In Georgia, I feel relatively freer, however I understand its a conditional, precarious freedom.
Its an illusion.
I bring the prison I originated from inside me.
And anywhere I go, repression follows me.
She states there are rumors of Russian representatives monitoring activists in exile.
I know Im being watched.
I know that if I returned to Russia, Id be arrested instantly.
Even remaining here, every action carries risk.Still, she has actually not stopped.
To me, liberty is a daily practice, not a provided condition.
Its something you defend every day, even when nobody is watching.
She no longer anticipates security from institutions.
Governments even democratic ones are sluggish, unclear.
But communities can still make a difference.
When you find a space where you can speak, develop, help others thats your cutting edge.
Thats where you fight.She does not want, she states, to be a quiet survivor.
She prefers to keep speaking, even with a vulnerable voice if it can help break the silence that secures power.Courtesy of Leda GarinaWhat actions lead to change, and how can they be carried out effectively?In a context of war and censorship, communication becomes an act of resistance, she says.
Its a theme she returns to frequently: the concept that words, gestures and images need to be deliberate, accurate, and indicated to interrupt.
Russian public communication is developed on an illusion: the state tells you that youre not accountable, that the enemy is outside, and that your suffering is warranted.
And many people pick to think it its much easier.
However for Leda, dissent can not be reassuring.
You have to pick: do you want to interact to look great, or to alter something? I chose the latter.
Which implies losing support, frightening people, developing division.Based on these principles, Leda has not only arranged political efficiencies and demonstrations but has actually also stayed active online, utilizing platforms like YouTube to rigorously dismantle imperialist stories.
We dont always know whos listening, but we understand why were doing it.
Inside Russia, people need to know that somebody is still speaking.
Even paradoxical actions, like dressing up as a squirrel to save a public park, can produce attention and discussion, she says.
In some cases its through paradox that consensus starts to crack.
Its a slow process, however one I believe in.For her, effective communication is not about making people feel much better it has to do with moving them.
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