Thumbelina Fountain, Rivne, Ukraine, 2021.

I WILL WAKE UP WHEN THIS FOUNTAIN IS FILLED UP

I returned to my hometown of Rivne to perform in the destroyed Thumbelina fountain, a place of my childhood memories and dreams. I slept in the fountain while people could enter the space and fill it with life through their artistic gestures: to paint on the walls, read a fairy tale, sing a song or fill in the questionnaire about the future of the fountain. After two days, the depressing image of the fountain had completely transformed. It turned into a stage, a place of freedom and expression, where everyone who entered the fountain was considered an artist.

“I WILL WAKE UP WHEN THIS FOUNTAIN IS FILLED UP”, Contemporary Art Rivne, Thumbelina Fountain, Rivne, Ukraine, 2021. © Daria Pugachova Photo: Elena Rabkina

The evolution of the Thumbelina in Rivne, from the 1960s till 2021.

“I WILL WAKE UP WHEN THIS FOUNTAIN IS FILLED UP”, Contemporary Art Rivne, Thumbelina Fountain, Rivne, Ukraine, 2021. © Daria Pugachova. Photo: 1,2 - Elena Rabkina, 3 - Bohdan Slutyi