Rufina Bazlova is a Prague-based artist who works in illustration, social artwork, scenography and performance. Bazlova got a Master degree in illustration (FDU LS, ZČU. 2015) and a second bachelor degree in stage design (KALD, DAMU. 2020). Rufina gained an international profile for her series The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka / vyzyvanka.com /, which uses the traditional folk embroidery medium to depict the peaceful protests in Belarus in 2020. The Artist is also known as the author of the fully embroidered comic Zhenokol (Feminnature), which explores the theme of feminism present in folk traditions. Bazlova is a coauthor of the installation about the Female Belarusian Triumvirate of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Maria Kolesnikova and Veronika Tsepkalo, created specially for the famous political Charlemagne prize 2022 in Aachen. In August 2022 the Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelenskij opened the week of independence wearing a shirt with Bazlova’s ornament.
In 2021 Bazlova together with Sofia Tocar founded a Stitchit art group and works on burning socio-political issues using the traditional technique of embroidery as a tool of resistance and dialogue. Stitchit involves different communities and individuals into the creation process and blurs the lines of authorship. The current project “Framed in Belarus” / framedinbelarus.net / is dedicated to political prisoners in Belarus.
#Framed in Belarus
Social art project about political prisoners in Belarus
The number of officially recognized political prisoners in Belarus currently reaches more than 1,300 people.
Each and every one of us has the opportunity to speak out against injustice through solidarity and collective creative process.
The aim of the #FramedinBelarus project is to tell about each illegally convicted citizen of Belarus and create their portraits using the traditional Belarussian technique of embroidery with red thread on a white background, and as a result – to record an important era of Belarusian history with a folk code ornament.
The process of embroidery is a long and meditative experience, allowing participants to concentrate on their thoughts and feelings for a particular arrestee. Time is what is taken away from a person in prison and time is the little we can sacrifice when creating a portrait of a political prisoner.
Participation in the project is a gesture of creative solidarity, allowing us to symbolically support people affected by the state regime and share a story about their experience using a non-traditional tool of political protest – cross-stitching.
