UKRAINE AND THE EFECT OF WAR AT VENICE BIENNALE
The Ukranian Pavilion addresses the othering effect of war, two years into the Russian Invasion, in Net Making at the 60th Venice Biennale.
The national Ukraine Pavilion presents Net Making at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia – a group exhibition curated by Viktoria Bavykina and Max Gorbatskyi. The title of the exhibition draws from the practice of Ukrainian civilians collectively weaving camouflage nets during the war. This community act is explored as a symbol of collective resistance in the face of the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian Pavilion is adressing the topic of otherness through personal experiences of war, emigration, assimilating into new societies, and the transformation of language under the pressure of violence. The exhibition will feature four presentations by artists Katya Buchatska, Andrii Dostliev and Lia Dostlieva, Daniil Revkovskyi and Andrii Rachynskyi, and Oleksandr Burlaka, as well as the communities with whom the artists have collaborated with.
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Exhibition view of Net Making at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby.
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Exhibition view of Net Making at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby.
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Andrii Dostliev, Lia Dostlieva, ‘Comfort Work’, stills from video series, 2023–2024. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby.
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Katya Buchatska,‘Best Wishes’, mixed media, 2023. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby.
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Anna Sapon, ‘Adriano Pedrosa, I congratulate you on the opening of the doors of La Biennale’, 2024, carpet, 130x200 cm, from the project ‘Best Wishes’ by Katya Buchatska. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby. Fragment.
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Daryna Malyuk ‘Diary’, 2023, reprint, from Katya Buchatska's project ‘Best Wishes’, 2024. Courtesy of the Ukrainian Pavilion. ©Rob Battersby.
The Ukrainian pavilion is framed by the architectural installation Work by Oleksandr Burlaka. Composed of woven linen fabrics made before the 1950s which have been collected at Ukrainian flea markets and online marketplaces. Burlaka’s installation creates a circular, encompassing space for three other presentations in the exhibition: the film Civilians. Invasion by Daniil Revkovskyi and Andrii Rachynskyi, the installation Best Wishes by Katya Buchatska, and the video Comfort Work by Andrii Dostliev and Lia Dostlieva.
Curators Viktoria Bavykina and Max Gorbatskyi comment in reference to the exhibition title: "Ukrainians are uniting: they take the streets, volunteer to fight, and gather to weave camouflage nets. Weaving nets is a process that encompasses more than just making a net to help the army. It is a recognition of a joint action that is beneficial for each other and for the country. This is not a top-down decision."
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