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Malikova Liubov
The Transparent Coat is a sincere, truthful, self-exposing narrative depicting real-life evidence of my life. It is filled with extremely diverse artifacts that I found in several of my everyday bags and pockets in the fall of 2023. There you can see certain signs of my reality, lifestyle, activities, feelings and way of thinking, probably even a general worldview or political views.
From a certain perspective, this multitude of objects could be mistakenly identified as some different character’s belongings. How do you explain yourself to a world that praises boxing? Who are you to those who request your ID? What do you do the true range of your being so as not to create inconvenience – to yourself and to others? Finally, where to place yourself and act, think, feel accordingly?
As a woman, a practicing mother, and a radical feminist, I derive my point of departure from the role conflict that characterizes the lives of my female contemporaries and colleagues, mostly in large cities. The conflict is almost always present, no matter how obvious it is. I see this disintegration as evidence of trauma. The trace of a split personality, the interrupted tissue of a human that lives, interacts, works, gives birth, cares, seeks its optimal state – it originates from trauma and replicates it on all levels, from the generational or transgenerational to the deeply intimate. The experience of a reproductive woman is common, ordinary, conventional – yet invariably revolutionary. It can make you whole or destroy you. Reproductive practices are the very special locus of our potential to emancipate.
The transparent coat is based on my eldest son’s invention – the “Kimono with a Thousand Pockets.” Yakiv designed it a few years ago as a gift for our dear friend and co-founder of the design branch of the DIS/ORDER collective. The coat has an unchanging signature feature: a large and practical pocket, which we call the “mother’s bag” and which holds literally everything.
Liubov Malikova is a Kyiv-based artist and designer, founder of the creative and production collective DIS/ORDER. She studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and in the studio of M.O. Shkaraputa. Malikova began her artistic career as an illustrator before shifting her focus to contemporary art. Today, she works extensively in fashion and applied design, developing artistic practices at the intersection of these disciplines. She works with a wide range of media and methods — from classical and traditional techniques to innovative technological materials and tools — and is the creator, director, and owner of the independent fashion brand DIS/ORDER.
Individually and as part of DIS/ORDER, Liubov explores themes of mutation, religion, social transformation, and technology. A feminist perspective, together with issues of humanitarian policy and human rights, remains a consistent and essential aspect of her work.
She has participated in the heritage initiative DENEDE, and has collaborated and exhibited at VCRC (Kyiv), Mystetskyi Arsenal (Kyiv), the IZOLYATSIA platform (Donetsk–Kyiv), M17 Contemporary Art Center (Kyiv), and at various editions of the Kyiv Biennial (Kyiv, Vienna, Berlin), among others. Malikova was a resident at Urbane Künste Ruhr(Germany) in 2022–2023, a finalist of the international UK/Raine competition for young artists organized by Saatchi Gallery (London, 2015), and a winner of the MUKHI competition (2010). Her designs were also featured in special selections for talented designers at two major international professional fairs — Bijorhca (Paris) and Tendence(Frankfurt).
In 2015, Liubov Malikova and Max Poberezhsky founded a branch of DIS/ORDER known as the Queer Chapel, which became a renowned happening in Kyiv and other cities over several years.
DIS/ORDER functions as an innovative studio whose research and production continue to push the boundaries of the industry. Malikova works extensively with textiles, printing, and diverse printmaking technologies. In 2019, she launched Ukraine’s first face mask production, developing her own authentic approach and securing a place in the history of club culture as the creator and producer of the iconic “smiley masks,” now recognizable among Ukrainian ravers and internationally.
Currently, Liubov is engaged in several ongoing projects, including a collaboration with the State Scientific and Technical Archive of Ukraine on the “Azovstal” series, as well as regular public workshops focused on printing visual elements of architectural, cultural, and industrial heritage.