Ukrainian realities in "Artificial pain" exhibition of contemporary art

An exhibition of contemporary Ukrainian art at the "ZNAKI CZASU" Centre of contemporary art is opening on April 3 at 18:00 in Torun (Poland).

The Artificial Pain project responds to current problems and situations that constitute Ukraine as a country, as a people, as a geopolitical point on the world map.

The concept of the exhibition is based on the inevitable determinism of the present by past decisions, the duration of some situations and the dynamic development of others.

Natalia Ivanova, curator of the exhibition and director of the YermilovCentre says: «Artistic reflection today is aimed at reflecting the fragile situation of Ukrainian society, where there is a defiant annexation of Crimea, separatist demonstrations in Donbass, external intervention in the East and ultra-government activism. These are topics that hurt and will hurt, even though in six years we have somehow "come to terms" with a certain state of affairs, learned to live with it, we do not react so violently and emotionally. But there are artists, whose works bring us back to these events from time to time, attract our attention again, remind us that it hurts again… ».

According to the concept of the exhibition, it is the artist's voice that is able to articulate the signs of the times: «The artist feels the social air that permeates everything, the social currents that saturate the information space. He/she is a medium, a prognosticator, a visionary. His/her artistic response to reality can be aggressive, melancholic, escapist, etc. - one that responds to the needs of the time, is able to express its symptoms, carves out his pain».

The works are selected as a kaleidoscope of experiences and form a tense field of experiences aimed at dialogue or self-deepening: «Contemporary Ukrainian art is not limited to topics of self-identification on the political background of history.<…> Experiments and discoveries are smelting new polydiscursive, neomythological forms».

One of the missions of the project is to support the intercultural dialogue between Ukraine and Poland, which have some common historical experience and history. «We presented an exhibition from the collection of the "Signs of the Times" centre of contemporary art (Torun) in YermilovCentre (Kharkiv) almost 3 years ago. Today we are showing Ukrainian contemporary art in Torun» - Natalia Ivanova says.

Exhibitors: Gera Artemova, Yuri Vyshnyakov, Artem Volokitin, Kostiantyn Zorkin, Taras Kamennoy, Vitalii Kokhan, Vladyslav Krasnoshchek, Sergei Lebedinsky, Bella Logacheva, Tatiana Malinovskaya, Mykola Matsenko, Roman Mykhailov, Roman Minin, NATSPROM (Oleg Tistol, Mykola Matsenko), Mykola Nosok, Yuliia Po, Roman Pyatkovka, Daniil Revkovskiy and Andriy Rachynskiy, Viktor Sydorenko, Oksana Solop, Vladyslav Yudin

Curators: Krzysztof Bialowicz, Natalia Ivanova

Architect of the exposition: Kostiantyn Zorkin

Project partner: ABRAMOVYCH.ART, Stedley Art Foundation

Online tour of the "Artificial Pain" exhibition is in four parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The 3D tour with the exhibition "Artificial Pain" can be viewed at the link - https://zwiedzaj.csw.torun.pl/tours/202004030607-sztuczny-bol-pl.html?fbclid=IwAR1kFBJqTqIxxmka02uukKf1Ma75pF7SyugfoK4O9LFy5wn13eE5J_FSCxU

You can learn more about the project in an interview with the Natalia Ivanova, who is the director of YermilovCentre. Vera Zborovska asked about important details of the Artificial Pain project, which presents contemporary Ukrainian art:

ARTIFICIAL PAIN. EXHIBITION OF UKRAINIAN CONTEMPORARY ART

There are series of interviews of Mary Varlygina with project participants:

Vlad Krasnoshchek about philosophy as an infection and the forbidden word "beautiful"

Konstantin Zorkin about mediation and vital art

Taras Kamennoy about the forced spectator and the art of blurring boundaries