Artist brings ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to life at Kiev museum

In an odd collision between art, fairy tales and an as-yet unfilmed reality show, a Ukrainian-born artist staged a live re-creation of the “Sleeping Beauty” story inside the National Art Museum in Kiev.

Inside a dimly lit upstairs gallery, the Canadian-based artist Taras Polataiko presented five attractive women who took turns sleeping on a stark, satiny bed for two hours each day. In keeping with the story, each woman pledged to marry the person who wakes them with a kiss for Polataiko’s “Sleeping Beauties.”

According to the Associated Press, one of the sleeping beauties had woken up as of Friday, and she was surprised to discover that her suitor was a woman, which left the fate of the project’s pledge in doubt given that Ukraine forbids same-sex marriage (and the would-be Princess Charming also has a boyfriend -- where was the Bravo network with this kind of drama going on?).

All kidding aside, while the artist reportedly stated his goal was to “witness the birth of love,” the marriage pledges are not legally binding. And the project also has serious political undertones in symbolizing the struggle of the Ukrainian people under President Viktor Yanukovych and the promise of freedom when they awake.

“The people are very patient, they’ve had hundreds of years of complex history,” Polataiko told the AP. “Whatever these pigs in the government do, the people endure it.”

Still, the lovelorn out there who may have wished to take a flier on this unique museum fairy tale will have to wait for another change. The three-week exhibition reportedly closed Sunday.

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Twitter: @chrisbarton