Ensemble: Уяви Україну – Мистецтво як критичне ставлення / Imagine Ukraine – Art as a Critical Attitude
Photo: Pat Verbruggen
M HKA, 06.05–21.08.2022
The exhibition at M HKA presented the vital Ukrainian art scene from the perspective of art as a critical instrument.
Nikita Kadan attaches a Soviet star to a Portuguese coloniser’s sculpture from Benin. In a recent video, Sergey Bratkov shows his brother, an architect living in Kharkiv, who measures a dilapidated building. In the spirit of the Maidan Revolution, Davyd Chychkan reflects on his society’s future, inspired by the forces that were active in the — that existed from 1917 until the Soviet victory in 1921 –, with the black of anarchism (for an anti-authoritarian future), the red of socialism (for social equality), and the purple of feminism — for a culturally progressive horizon. He interweaves these with the colours, symbols and heritage of Ukraine. Its counterpart is the wall drawing Landscape with Staffage by Anna Scherbyna.
Another core element of the programme is See Ukraine, a film programme with videos by young Ukrainian artists, shedding light on current issues of identity and the relationship with past and future. The programme is introduced by the song Obiymy [Hug Me] by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk and the Akustikos Art Group, recently recorded in the ruins of Palats Pratsi [the Palace of Labour] in Kharkiv.
To add a playful element, on the other side of the library Alevtina Kakhidze’s The Most Commercial Project is also shown. Kakhidze investigates ideas of value, materialism, possession and consumption by imitating clothes she likes, then selling them at the clothes' original retail price.
The campaign image of Imagine Ukraine was created by Nikolay Karabinovych.
Works
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>Леся Українка / Lesya Ukrainka, Contra spem spero!, 1890.Poetry.
>Alevtina Kakhidze / Алевтина Кахідзе, The Most Commercial Project / Найкомерційніший проєкт, 2010.Installation, video and drawings and photocopies, variable.
>Nikolay Karabinovych, Gelb Gelb, Blau Blau / Жовтий жовтий, синій синій, 2014.Video.
>Nikita Kadan / Нікіта Кадан, The Chronicle / Хроніка, 2016.Drawing, ink on paper, 18 x (15 x 20 cm)/(20 x 15 cm) .
>David Claerbout, Olympia (The Real-Time Disintegration into Ruins of the Berlin Olympic Stadium over the Course of a Thousand Years), 2016.Installation, two-channel real-time projection, color, silent, hd animation, 1000 years.
>Даніїл Ревковський та Андрій Рачинський / Daniil Revkovskiy and Andriy Rachinskiy, Охорона праці на Дніпропетровщині / Labour Safety in the Region of Dnipropetrovsk , 2018.Video, 22’13”.
>Davyd Chychkan / Давид Чичкан, Ribbons and Triangles / Стрічки та трикутники, 2020-2022.Series.
>Яна Бачинська / Yana Bachynska, Didova škira / My Grandfather’s Skin , 2020.Video, 4’45”.
>Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei / Ярема Малащук та Роман Хімей, Пряма трансляція / Live Stream, 2020.Video, single-screen looped video installation, color, sound, 17’.
>Дана Кавеліна / Dana Kavelina, Лист до горлиці / Letter to a Turtledove, 2020.Video, 20'.
>Nikolay Karabinovych, Even Further, 2020.Video, videoinstallatie, video (kleur en geluid) en metalen muziekdoos, 00:06:22.
>Nikita Kadan / Нікіта Кадан, The Beautiful Coloniser / Прекрасний колонізатор, 2020.Painting, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm.
>Nikita Kadan / Нікіта Кадан, Palace of Pioneers / Палац Піонерів , 2021.Painting, oil on canvas, 190 x 150 cm.
>Davyd Chychkan / Давид Чичкан, Alternative Hryvnias / Альтернативні гривні, 2021.Series, digital printout of the watercolor graphics on paper, variable dimensions.
>Володимир Зеленський. Відео трансляція «Це Україна: Захищаючи свободу», Scuola Grande della Misericordia, Венеція / Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Video streaming, This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom, Scuola Grande della Misericordia, Venice, 2022.Video.
>Sergey Bratkov / Сергій Братков, Архітектурні вимірювання / Architectural Measurements, 2022.Video.
>Святослав Вакарчук / Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, "Обійми" live у Харкові, 14 квітня 2022 /"Hug me" live in Kharkiv, April 14, 2022, 2022.Video.
>Анна Щербина / Anna Scherbyna, Пейзаж зі стафажем / Landscape with Staffage, 2022.Drawing, charcoal wall drawing.
>Nikolay Karabinovych, Imagine Ukraine / Уяви Україну, 2022.Digital image.
>Тімоті Снайдер / Timothy Snyder, Українська Перемога - Історія, але більше - Тиранія / Ukrainian Victory - History but more so - Tyranny.Video, 3 x .