Performance-Installation “GULYAPOLE” by Kateryna Beslik as Part of Ukrainian Fashion Week

On September 2, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., during Ukrainian Fashion Week, designer and fashion artist Kateryna Beslik presented the performance-installation “Gulyapole,” featuring the theater and music project Mariia&Magdalyna with the support of the presentation partner AGA.TE jewelry studio.

“Gulyapole” is a reflective journey through the duality of reality, exploring the delicate balance between life and death. It confronts the human choice between creation and destruction, with creativity emerging as a hero against global evil to understand the nature of humanity.

The performance is an attempt to mourn the lost, acknowledging the petrified despair that silently poisons. It signifies the process of growing up and gaining incredible strength.

Kateryna Beslik is a fashion artist, designer, and stylist who works at the intersection of art and fashion, utilizing upcycling techniques. Her primary medium is clothing.

The central composition is an art textile—a canvas made from pieces of clothing from the inhabitants of the city of Gulyaipole, the artist’s personal belongings, and remnants of fabrics collected from design studios. “Doors” in the installation – a floral composition of plants collected in Gulyaipol and precious brooches of the jewelry studio AGA.TE.

Gulyaipole, a city in the Zaporizhia region, has been teetering on the brink of occupation and life for more than two years. The city has no electricity, water, or gas, and most of its buildings, architectural monuments, hospitals, schools, and museums have been destroyed. Yet, people, including Kateryna’s parents and grandparents, continue to live there.

“From that crucial point, back there in Gulyaipole, I became Katya Beslik—a designer, stylist, and fashion artist. There, in the southeast, I embraced my Ukrainian identity. It is from there that I understand the words ‘wildness’ and ‘freedom’,” says Katya.