Transformation is a special topic for Ukrainian society. During the years of independence, Ukraine has not only emerged on the world map as a separate country, but it has also undergone tremendous changes and reforms in politics, culture, and people's mindsets. Art captures these reference points, documenting the processes and analyzing them. This project is not a chronological representation of Ukrainian art; it aims to provide "artistic evidence" of what has happened in Ukraine over the last thirty years, how we perceive reality, and what conclusions we can draw on our own, regardless of external influence.
The starting point of this project is the fact of the collapse of the Soviet Union as a vast system, which phenomenon has led to a series of transformations. The analysis of this fact is reflected in nearly all the art objects in the exhibition in one way or another. It opens with one of the brightest paintings by Oleg Tistol, “Roksolana,” which symbolizes the end of a fading epoch; it continues in the work of Olexandr Gnylytskiy, who literally "squeezes" the Soviet reality into a typical urban landscape; and it arises in the fading flag of Kostyantin Reunov's work.
One of the powerful themes under artistic development is transformation. One illustration of this can be found in the somewhat "romantic" work of the Sviter Art Group, "Little Sea Surf," which gently touches on the subject of territorial grabbing.
Nazar Bilyk explores the theme of "internal" boundaries, “stitching” and “pulling together” an abstract figure. The artist tends toward recovery and harmony, creating a universal soldier-guardian who may protect a world that is falling apart.
Powerful social and political changes inevitably swing the theme of internal conflicts, existential disharmony, and anxiety, which take on global proportions. You can feel it in works such as “Opposition” by Anatol Stepanenko, or “Self-Portrait” by Oleg Golosiy, which has become a prototype of the “hero of our time.”
An integral part of the epoch is the transformation of national memory. Decommunization is one of the most current and painful themes for Ukrainian society and is a significant part of the transformation period when flags and ideologies are changing. We are overthrowing ossified idols, “conducting an audit” of values, discovering ourselves, and pulling together the evidence of our own identity.
The transformation of the village and its disappearance as a material object (which was also part of the Soviet government program) is one of the most sacred themes for Ukraine. Olexandr Babak's project “Parsuna” from the project “Reconstruction” speaks about proximity to cultural origins. The artist tries to convey the essence of the village, which is full of archaic codes, giving people the ability to feel their connection to nature, and providing freedom and independence from an artificial proletariat system.
The transformation of freedom is central to this project. The deliberate mixing of cultures, the enslavement of human consciousness, and the deprivation of the rights to independence, individual opinion, voice, and choice have been long-standing government programs that have criminally misled society, substituting the real world with a comfortable myth of "carefree and stable" life. Today, freedom is the goal. From whispers in kitchens, Marina Skugareva’s “Still Life,” which during the Soviet period was the only territory of freedom where artists rejected the official regime and demonstrated their “real” avant-garde works, to discussing the regime's discontent and reading “banned” writers for whom they could have been jailed. From that time until today, freedom has reached the courage of Maidan, providing the opportunity to express civic positions (Mykola Matsenko’s “Chevron”).
Through the characteristic baroque humor of Ukrainian artists, directed toward quiet paradise, mixed with tragedy and depth, we assert that Ukraine will no longer be a cultural colony, a donor of meanings for others. It is time to assess our own resources. The boundaries are changing, the transformation of memory is in progress, and new meanings are forming, with the importance being signaled out.
Kateryna Ray
Congress of Cultural Activists
Artists:
Oleksandr Babak
Nazar Bilyk
Artem Volokitin
Oleksandr Hnylytskyi
Ksenia Hnylytska
Oleh Holosiy
Oleksandr Dyachenko
Oleksandr Zhyvotkov
Oleksii Zolotar
Nikita Kadan
Illya Isupov
Olevtina Kakhidze
Pavlo Kerestey
Pavlo Makov
Mykola Matsenko
Roman Minin
Anna Mironova
Sergiy Petlyuk
Kostyanyin Reunov
Oleksandr Roitburd
Arsen Savadov
Andriy Sagaidakivsky
Marina Skugareva
Anatol' Stepanenko
Oleg Tistol
Valeriya Trubina
SviterArtGroup
GAZ Group
Oleh Kapustyak
Kateryna Ray - Curator
Angela Henkel - manager
Jürgen Haase - manager
