BY LAW 

Collaboration with artist Uladzimir Hramovich 

Today, borders have become conflict zones, making emigration difficult. My partner and I, citizens of Belarus, were forced to leave after being detained for protesting in 2020-21. Emigrants face numerous challenges, including costly legalization and obtaining essential documents.

Marriage, often seen as a relic of patriarchal society, reveals its importance in different countries by providing care and emergency access when laws fail. In Belarus, following the protests, there were officially 1,500 political prisoners, though the real number is much higher. Thousands of families must support their incarcerated relatives, often needing to be recognized as family members to provide aid like medicine, clothes, and food.

Marriage offers emigrants similar benefits, allowing them to assist loved ones and provide a semblance of security and stability when they lack full citizenship rights in their home or host countries.

BY LAW reimagines immigrant interior design, featuring a wedding bouquet symbolizing the countries we traversed during our emigration. Borders and nations, often perceived as natural, are shown to be artificial constructs. The accompanying video portrays a couple wrapped in insulating blankets, symbolizing protection and care. For migrants, documents transcend their administrative purpose, becoming lifelines when homeland and family are absent.

Installation as part of the 21. SURVIVAL Art Review ERZAC
Wroclaw, Poland. 2023 

︎︎︎ Archiwum.survival. PRZEZ PRAWO, 2023