Musical accompaniment for the exhibition ‘Procrustean bed’

The project was commissioned by the Mercury Art Centre and the communications agency ‘COMMS 517’ for an exhibition of Ukrainian artists in New York, held at the Fridman Gallery.

Working on this commission proved to be a real professional challenge for Mariia Yaremak due to the extremely tight deadlines: the entire score was effectively written in a single attempt, which required maximum concentration and a deep immersion in the meanings of the artworks.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Procrustean bed’, explores the theme of the artist caught in the grip of the system – the experience of creativity within rigid frameworks that seek to stretch or compress human reality.

Mariia has embodied this idea in a 30-minute piece that combines the sounds of classical instruments and electronics. The composition is written as an ‘unbroken circle’. The musical canvas reflects a constant struggle through the alternation of two states:

Abstract expressionism: episodes where melodies stretch out and the harmony constantly shifts under the pressure of an unstable rhythm. This is a musical embodiment of the search for one’s true self and attempts to find one’s place amidst the pressures of societal and systemic expectations.

Wholistic harmony: moments when a confident and beautiful sound emerges from chaos, symbolising the discovery of one’s own path and inner strength.

In keeping with the exhibition’s concept, this tranquillity is only temporary. The ‘pressure of the system’ continues its endless movement, and the holistic harmony once again falls apart under the influence of external circumstances, forcing the artist to piece themselves back together, like a jigsaw puzzle, time and time again.