Tales from Donbas

My name is Elena Rubashevska, I am an artist and a displaced person from Ukraine. Since 2014, when I lost my home for the first time, I am metaphorically referring to myself as a “tumbleweed” and trying to find the sense of the lost identity that keeps slipping away. Cities, countries, continents… Was I dreaming that once I had a home? In the project I’m presenting at the Moving Fireplaces festival, I am reaching back to my childhood memory and bringing out tales from my native land. During 30 minutes of a narrative experience, you will discover legends of four main industries of Donbas: the Tale of Chalk, the Tale of Salt, the Tale of Coal, and the Tale of Metal. *the visual part of the project is composed of the materials I assembled during my last trip to Donbas where I was doing research for the documentary film Symphony of Donbas, just before the outbreak of full-scale war. Many of the shown places do not exist anymore.