2016 Three Young Muses*, Ukraine

(*a woman, or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration)

Three Young Muses by Imke Rust

The Three Young Muses is a public sculpture project by Imke Rust, initiated and funded by the German Consulate in Donetsk and ArtSvit Gallery, and realized in Dnipro, Ukraine, in September 2016.

Installed opposite the Dmytro Yavornytsky National Historical Museum, the sculptural group establishes a deliberate visual and conceptual dialogue with the region’s ancient stone Baba figurines. In contrast to these archetypal forms, the three sculptures depict contemporary young women seated informally on the grass of the park, absorbed in quiet contemplation and oriented toward the future.

Positioned as a counterpoint to the historical Babas, The Three Young Muses addresses the continuity and transformation of female knowledge, agency, and symbolic presence across time. The work proposes a reactivation of female wisdom and power as a necessary element in rebalancing social, cultural, and ideological structures historically shaped by patriarchal dominance. At the same time, the figures function as reminders of collective responsibility: the future is not inherited passively but consciously imagined and co-created by each generation.

Departing from the permanence of stone, the sculptures are carved from ash wood. This material choice emphasizes processes of growth, vitality, and transformation, while its inherent vulnerability and semi-permanent nature reflect the accelerated conditions of contemporary life. The materiality of the work foregrounds temporality and change, underscoring the urgency of presence and attentiveness in shaping what is yet to come.

Conceived as an open and participatory gesture within public space, The Three Young Muses invites passersby to pause, sit, and engage—physically and imaginatively—with the act of envisioning possible futures.