Paris Hosts Pop-Up 'Tripolar' Showcasing Ukrainian Art and Culture
In Paris over the next couple of weeks? Head down to the Tripolar pop-up on 169 Boulevard Saint-Germain until the 17th of May to discover a mecca of Ukrainian design talents. Made possible by Fashion Girls for Humanity, and supported by the PR agency Lucien Pagès, jewellery brand Charlotte Chesnais, design agency M/M Paris, together with Avoir, Baby Prod, Sheriff Projects, Decontriel, YSDS and Renuaissace, the shop space includes rugs, paintings, sculptures and fashion to purchase, supporting and celebrating a host of creatives.
The Tripolar pop-up shop is the first of three chapters in a new project of the same name. 'From rustic poetics of the past (GENESIS), through the commentary on the globalised and wretched present (ACTUALITÉ), it will take visitors to utopian ideas of the future (FUTUR)', the Tripolar collective explain.
The pop-up shop marks the launch of GENESIS, with a special curation of Ukrainian designers and artists who draw connections between traditional, folkloric craftsmanship and modern making. The upstairs attic space in the temporary store is dedicated to fashion designers including Anna October and Bobkova. These aforementioned 'poetics of the past' are also evident in designer Poustovit's upcycled peasant dresses and Bevza woven caftans. In addition, a limited edition of Tripolar t-shirts designed by M/M Paris and produced by Poustovit are available to purchase in store, raising money for the humanitarian project Kyiv Angels.
The ground floor is where you'll discover contemporary Ukrainian artefacts. The space itself sees art influence life; the set design, created by AVOIR agency, was inspired by Sergei Paradzhanov's triptych of films Kyiv Frescoes from 1966. The back wall includes an abstract mural by Tymur Postovyi, and a site-specific soundscape was also created specially by the classical musician and DJ Nastya Vogan.
Hand-embroidery is a recurrent storytelling motif throughout art and fashion history, and is prominent in the pieces curated for the shop, from intricate bedsheets by Vita Kin to table napkins by the artist Shubina which feature interpretations of painted military helicopters. A soap sculpture of a female figure by Maria Kulikovska featuring violent traces of gunshots, echoes themes of war. In the realm of ceramics, there are works by Nadiia World and Gunia Project. Masha Shubina, who created hyperreal paintings and recently exhibited at the Venice Biennale, is revealing a new work for the space.
Read our rolling resource list of ways to help Ukraine here.
Tripolar: Part 1 Genesis
May 7-17 2022
169 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006. Paris
11AM-8pm
