Arddangosfa gan y ffotograffydd Belarwsaidd Andrei Liankevich yw “pagan”, sy’n cofnodi traddodiadau gwerin yn Belarws sy’n deillio o oes cyn dyfodiad Cristnogaeth yn y 10fed ganrif ac sy’n dal i gael eu harfer yng nghefn gwlad Belarws. Fel pobl mewn mannau a diwylliannau eraill, roedd pobl Dwyrain Ewrop yn gwrthod rhoi’r gorau i’w traddodiadau, gan barhau i’w harddel, tra mabwysiadodd lledaenwyr y gred newydd rai o’r arferion paganaidd er mwyn denu mwy o bobl i’w dilyn, gan greu cymysgedd eclectig a hynod ddiddorol.
Dengys project Andrei sut y mae defodau na ŵyr pobl drefol, fodern nemor ddim amdanynt, neu sydd ond yn gyfarwydd i’r rhan fwyaf trwy luniau mewn llyfrau hanes neu ymweliadau ag amgueddfeydd ethnograffig, yn dal yn fyw ac iach yng nghefn gwlad. Mae Andrei yn cyfleu manylion ac awyrgylch defodau a dathliadau a gynhelir ar hyd y flwyddyn, yn gysylltiedig â’r calendr amaethyddol a chrefyddol, sydd wedi goroesi ar hyd y canrifoedd. Yng ngeiriau Svetlana Poleschuk, ymchwilydd ac awdur y rhagarweiniad i lyfr Andrei, “Goroesodd cred baganaidd bob cyfundrefn gymdeithasol-wleidyddol, gan ddiogelu’r peth pwysicaf: sylw arbennig a pharch at natur. Gall unrhyw wrthrych sy’n ymddangos yn ddinod ar yr olwg gyntaf fel carreg, coeden, planhigyn, torch, neu ffordd fod wedi ei gynysgaeddu ag ystyr symbolaidd a’i animeiddio; mae’n dod â lwc dda, yn gwneud y daith i’r byd a ddaw yn haws, yn gwella afiechyd, yn cadw rhag drwg, yn rhoi harddwch, yn rhagddweud y dyfodol. (...) Mae treiddio i gyfrinachedd y traddodiad gwerin a chreu delwedd anarferol, gyfriniol bron, o bentref Belsrwsaidd yn yr oes hon yn gwneud project Andrei yn wahanol i unrhyw beth a wnaed yn ffotograffiaeth Belarws cyn hyn, ac yn wahanol i ffotograffiaeth Belarws yn gyffredinol. Nid dim ond cyfres o bortreadau seicolegol mo hwn, nac ymgais syml i ddogfennu ffordd o fyw: mae’n ymchwil doeth a gofalus i haen gyfan o ddiwylliant, yn fwriadol rydd o’r gwleidyddoli sydd bellach yn nodweddiadol o unrhyw drafodaeth o bynciau’n ymwneud â Belarws. ‘Ceisiais ateb y cwestiwn pwy oeddem ni’n flaenorol a phwy ydym ni bellach, fel Belarwsiaid’, meddai Andrei Liankevich.” Mae Andrei’n ddarlithydd ffoto-newyddiaduraeth yn Vilnius, Lithwania, ac ef yw trefnydd Mis o Ffotograffiaeth ym Minsk. Mae’n rhan o SPUTNIK, casgliad o ffotograffwyr dogfennol o ganolbarth a dwyrain Ewrop. Gallwch weld gwaith Andrei ar ei dudalen. *** “pagan” yw'r pumed mewn cyfres o 9 arddangosfa a drefnwyd yn 76m2 gan y*brosiect*kickplate, gyda chefnogaeth gan Gyngor Celfyddydau Cymru, Datblygu Celfyddydau Cyngor Torfaen a Chyngor Cymuned Pont-y-pŵl. 11fed Gorffennaf – 4ydd Awst Dydd Mawrth – Dydd Sadwrn, 11:00 – 18:00 76m2 2 Adeiladau Portland Stryd Fasnachol Pont-y-pŵl, Torfaen NP4 6JS ![]()
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“pagan” is an exhibition by Belarusian photographer Andrei Liankevich who captured folk traditions in Belarus dating back to the times before its Christianisation in the 10th century that continue to be practised in rural Belarus. Like in many other places and cultures, Eastern Europeans were unwilling to abandon their traditions and continued to practise them, while propagators of the new faith adopted some of the pagan customs to persuade more people to join, leading to the creation of an eclectic and fascinating mix. Andrei’s project shows how the rites that are known to modern town-dwellers only to a limited extent, familiar to most people through illustrations in history books or visits to ethnographic museums, are still alive and well in the countryside. Andrei has rendered the detail and atmosphere of rituals and celebrations that take place throughout the year, linked to the agricultural and religious calendar, which survived throughout the centuries. In the words of Svetlana Poleschuk, researcher who wrote the introduction to Andrei’s book, “Pagan belief survived all socio-political regimes and preserved the most important thing: special attention and respect for the nature. Any object banal at a first glance such as a stone, a tree, a plant, a wreath, or a road appears to be endowed with a symbolic meaning and animated: it brings luck, makes the transition to the afterlife easier, cures disease, protects from evil, gives beauty, bedevils, foretells the future. (…) Penetration into the folk tradition’s secrecy and creation of an unusual, almost mystical image of the present-day Belarusian village distinguish Andrei’s project from everything done in Belarusian photography before him and from photography of Belarus in general. This is not just series of psychological portraits and not just a simple documentation of a way of life; this is a prudent and careful research of an entire cultural layer deliberately free from any politicisation that has become nowadays typical of coverage of Belarusian topics. ‘I tried to answer the question who we were earlier and who we are at the moment being Belarusians’, says Andrei Liankevich”. Andrei is a photojournalism lecturer in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the organizer of Month of Photography in Minsk. He’s part of SPUTNIK, a collective of Eastern and Central European documentary photographers. You can find Andrei’s work on his website. *** "pagan" is the fifth in a series of 9 exhibitions organised in 76m2 by the*kickplate*project, with the support from the Arts Council of Wales, Torfaen Council’s Arts Development and Pontypool Community Council. 11th July – 4th August Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 – 18:00 76m2 2 Portland Buildings Commercial Street Pontypool, Torfaen NP4 6JS |