Ukrainian self-assertion with art

An exhibition presenting art by six Ukrainian artists has started with a great community evening with discussions, drinks, live music and painted hugs at the Green Hill Gallery in Friedrichshain. Throughout the summer (until August 26) you can see white “pysanky”, a modified form of the famous, actually colored Ukrainian Easter eggs, traditional embroidery on knives, pictures of the women’s movement and other experiences by Ukrainian artists from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lubny and other cities.

The exhibition was curated by the artist Olga Lobazova. Lobazova fled to Berlin with her mother. In Kharkiv she runs the private art organization Kultprostir, which organizes exhibitions and deals with myths, traditional crafts and the cultural knowledge of Ukraine. The Berlin exhibition takes place on the premises of the Berlin non-profit organization Kulturmacher.

“There is something to lose”

“This is not just another Ukrainian exhibition. We want to put a human face on the current war and tell the story of the Ukrainian people, emphasizing that there is something to lose – namely the rich culture and tradition of Ukraine. That’s why the people are self-sacrificing and self-pitying,” says organizer Olga Lobazova, who also exhibits herself.

Olga Lobazova loves all kinds of traditional arts like pysanky, the painted Easter eggs of Ukraine and vytynanky, paper cuttings. Lobazova has been researching these art forms for several years by organizing expeditions to villages around the metropolis of Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border, and conducting interviews with residents there, for example. She calls the white “pysanky” shown in the exhibition “winter wheat”, named after a particularly hardy type of grain that accounts for a large part of the grain grown in Ukraine.

Conditions in the region, just 40 kilometers from the Russian border, are dangerous. Russian propaganda has been trying to undermine and weaken Ukrainian culture for years. The resistance to this started a long time ago and is a process that is ongoing. And Olga Lobazova’s white “winter wheat” Easter eggs say: When we experience winter, we know that tomorrow will bring us a harvest.

The artist Alena Shybunova expresses her inner thoughts with old embroidery and plaster on hardboard. “In the early days of the war, I temporarily moved from Kyiv to Lviv, to a safer place. At the local flea market I bought a pillowcase with traditional Ukrainian embroidery. I cut it, plastered it with plaster and turned it into a weapon. This is my own gesture of resistance,” says the artist.

Cheers to the courage of the Ukrainians

The painter Anna Voda paints her pictures in oil and with acrylic paints. Her work has already been shown in various group exhibitions, including in Tbilisi, and Voda also has numerous collaborations with designers and clothing brands. Her painted “Hugs” are the artist’s reaction to Ukrainian unity and the courage Ukrainians are showing in these difficult times. And the colors of all these feelings are not just yellow and blue…

The Swiss analyst Carl Gustav Jung wrote: “Neurosis is an inevitable price of civilization. Socialization is necessary, but each new adaptation removes man from the Garden of Eden.” Photographer Jane Laptii brings the myth into everyday life. In the Hero With Thousand Faces series, she works with ancient myths that predate Christian civilization.

For with the advent of Christianity, in their view, the gradual death of myth as everyday practice begins. In her photography, Jane turns against the ritualization of modern society.

The Green Hill Gallery in Friedrichshain was founded nine years ago. “We’ve had a lot of unique art projects here before, but modern Ukrainian art has particularly impressed us. Despite many global challenges such as Covid and war, the artists from this country show their strong will to survive and fight against despair,” says Christopher Elmerick, co-founder of the gallery and the initiative Kulturmacher. “We are currently experiencing the history of Ukrainian culture, presented vividly and with joy.”

Artwork and prints can be purchased during the exhibition. 50 percent of sales proceeds will be donated to the Hospitallers relief fund, a volunteer organization founded in 2014 by paramedics. The exhibition program also includes workshops and charity dinners.

Cooking and eating together is another form of art that is celebrated in the exhibition. During the opening week, the Kharkiv chef Valentina Odarenko prepared Ukrainian dishes for the gallery’s guests. You can find the rest of the program here: choko.link/kultprostir.