DESCENT INTO THE MARSH

2020 — 2024 . photodocumentation of the protests 

Every Day. Art. Solidarity. Resistance. Gallery Mystetskyi Arsenal / 2021. Kyiv, UA

Published in late 2024, just before Belarus’s 2025 elections, this book addresses an ongoing repression, whereby thousands have been incarcerated as political prisoners and around a million people have been forced to flee. In it, the author presents a series of photographs taken since 2020 and connects the recent protests in Belarus with those in Hong Kong, highlighting these two cases as exemplars of modern resistance shaped by digital control and China’s geopolitical influence.

The seven chapters, illustrated with photographs from Belarus and Hong Kong, explore common tactics and symbols: gestures of unity, the symbolic use of colour, and objects such as umbrellas that represent protection and resilience. Artistic expressions, such as Hong Kong’'s Lennon Walls and those in and Belarusian courtyards, highlight typify grassroots creativity and the importance of ephemeral protest spaces. The leaderless, decentralizsed nature of both movements highlights signals their adaptability. Hong Kong's “Be Water” strategy and Belarus's horizontal organising emphasiseemphasize the criticality of collective action while in the face of evading authoritarian crackdowns.

The book also examines the exchange of repressive practices between the regimes in China and Belarus, focusing on the role of surveillance technologies. The combination of modern surveillance with traditional methods of intimidation points to the evolving challenges facing protest movements.

While neither movement achieved its immediate political goals, both left a lasting impact on cultural and societal transformationculture and society. "Descent into the Marsh" is a visual document of protest that highlights the universal human quest for freedom and dignity. The book functions as an open archive, regularly updated with new media articles and reflections on ongoing struggles, providing a lasting record of unfinished events that remain unblocked and uncensored online.

ISBN 978-3-00-081038-1

AUTHOR : Lesia Pcholka
EDITOR : Black Seeds in Hong Kong
CURATOR : Katarzyna Zielinska / zusa gGmbH
DESIGN : Karolina Pietrzyk, Tobias Wenig
EDITION : 250 copies  

where to

BUY BOOK

︎︎︎ Skaryna Press (online)

︎︎︎ Galeria Arsenał. Bialystok, PL

︎︎︎ Hopscotch. Berlin, DE

︎︎︎ Bęc Zmiana. Warsaw, PL + online