Welcome to the 43rd insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we travel to the Ukraine, going underground to visit ‘CXEMA’, an illicit, progressional rave scene providing an out amidst a civil war.
Rave culture has been tied to rebellion since the dawn of techno in the late 1980’s. First surging in Europe during the cold war, raves have allowed an unapologetic freedom of expression in both physical and spiritual settings, using hypnotic and repetitive tempos to rid of social norms. Rising alongside new-found party enhancer; Ecstasy, the drug-infused techno scene acted previously as an escape to crisis, and is doing the same in Kyiv, Ukraine.
As a result of the rising tensions between the public and political leaders in the Soviet region, civil unrest broke out in 2013 and escalated quickly. Riots, protests and violence sent waves among youth and activists alike, spiraling the nation into a depression. However, amid the rubble, life began to flourish in the mind of Slavik Lepsheev, and CXEMA was born.
Rooting as a yearn for the party life Kyiv once possessed, a generation suffered from lack of income or social outlets. Many workers were discharged from jobs, and subsequently lost a motivation for life itself, the country was torn in opposition and yet Lepsheev began working. CXEMA opened their doors as an illicit rave hotspot, attracting the masses with an encouraged thought of individuality and comfort. The parties grew and sparked a revival in 90’s style, sex, drugs and a sense of hope, becoming a safehaven in the distress of the overworld.
Some accredit Russian fashion designer Gosha Rubinsky as a key motivation in the sport-like physique CXEMA is akin to, but the extremities of rave-style are perpetually changing, just those beneath the textile. A philosophy of experiment is residual in the movement, as a fluency is crucial in the constant shift of locations and antics. From one urban warehouse to the next, or a sudden law enforced shutdown, the freedom of CXEMA lives on.
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