LIMINALITY
Yulia Belousova
Curated by Tatiana Gecmen-Waldek
HeartbeatInk Project Space; Athens
13NOV-1DEC26
Liminality operates this space between worlds, a passage, a transition in which artist Yulia
Belousova reveals a personal cosmology, feminine agency and physical self-possession.
In her drawings, the seemingly playful meets the enigmatic. Yulia’s distinctive, childlike style draws
the viewer into fantastical narratives composed of individual riddles. The works on paper are
inhabited by animals and creatures rooted in ancient mysticism. Suspended in time, her
dreamlike images evoke an uncanny realm, haunted or blessed by symbols and hidden clues.
Yulia’s mythology in muted palettes, occasional illuminations of gold leaf and contrasting deeper
tones ornate a boxing ring to welcome a Female Fight Club.
While the spiritual and intuitive drift through invisible worlds, the tangible self must learn to take
up space, hold its ground and resist. Beneath the apparent softness lies Yulia’s impulse to fight: to
stop dodging, raise her guard and find the ground beneath her feet to push forward.
HeartbeatInk Project Space stages this duality, holding two worlds in tension: one of symbols and
mysticism, the other of movement, physical presence and emancipation. For the first two days,
the space will host a participatory performance in which Yulia invites women to step between the
ropes and learn to fight, guided by Greek professional boxers and instructors Dimitris “Rico”
Xerikos and Despoina Ferizi. Through movement and training the ring becomes a space to feel
empowered through self-defence.
Liminality asks: Where does feminine sovereignty lie : in the physical act of self-defence, pushing
the body to become its own fearless guardian, in the expansion of the mind and the
transcendence of one's perceived limits, or in both?
Ultimately, Liminality invites us to turn both inward and outward, to connect with the sensory
experience of being and to consider art as a space for awareness, transformation and healing.
Performance and Exhibition Description
Performance: During an artistic residency in Athens with the curator Tatiana Gecmen Waldek, Yulia Belousova trains in boxing with the acclaimed professional instructor Dimitris “Rico” Xerikos and learns practical self-defense skills on a weekly basis, while she is creating new paintings for the show.
For the first 2 days of the exhibition, Yulia Belousova will transform this learning process into a
durational performance, training with Rico and inviting women to join her. Together, we will learn
how to stand up for ourselves and defend our bodies. The performance is not a demonstration of
strength already acquired, but an experiment in acquiring it — together, by confronting our fears.
Curation: The performance takes place within an installation that deliberately contrasts the
physical intensity and raw energy of a fighting environment with delicate, subtle and symbolic
artworks reflecting Yulia’s inner world.