In the summer of 2020 a revolution took place in Belarus. President Aleksandr
Lukashenko’s fraudulent reelection to a sixth term in office ignited unprecedented peaceful
protests throughout the entire country and across virtually all socio-economic sectors. Through
innumerable acts of incredible bravery, ordinary citizen made their hopes clear. While diversity
of opinion abounds within the opposition, most Belarusians dreamt of a free, fair, and truly
democratic Belarus. This exhibition seeks to honor their struggle by confronting the public with the faces of resistance. The French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas considered the face-to-face encounter as the origin of responsibility. “[The face of the other] is not simply a plastic form, but an immediate commitment, an appeal to me, an order for me to be at the service of this face.”
The photography and artwork of six different Belarusian photojournalists and artists capture the experiences as well as the faces of political prisoners, pensioners and children marching in the streets, and of the victims of the regime’s unprecedented cruelty. This material will serve as an open invitation to a personal encounter with defiance. Images, both captured and represented,
depict prison cells, assaults by riot police, and scenes of profound solidarity and hope. Each viewer’s encounter with these faces will be unique, but each face will issue a private appeal. It is
the hope of this exhibition that such appeals will not go unheeded.