Friendship of Nations

The project is an allusion to the infamous monument in Kyiv "Arch of Friendship of Nations".
Recently, the arch has acquired many symbolic referencies:
- Post-Soviet reflections.
- a symbol of the struggle for human rights, in particular the LGBT+ movement in the country.
- the emergence of radical nationalist movements in Ukraine.
The opening of the architectural comlex took place in 1982 and was timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR.
In the framework of the Law on Decommunization of Ukraine adopted in 2016, it was decided to dismantle the Arch of Friendship of Nations. But at the end of 2017 the authorities decided not to demolish the Arch, since this would have costed a substantial amount of money.
Besides during the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 the Arch should have been painted in rainbow colors, supporting the slogan of the contest "Celebrating Diversity". However, the process of painting was interrupted by the right wing of the Parliament. As a result, during the competition the arch was half painted.
In the end the colored stripes were repainted gray under the pressure of nationalists. A photography of the half-painted arch became one of the main symbols of the fight for the rights of LGBT+ community.
The installation is a mirror arch hanged in the air. One side of the double-sided mirrors is left untouched, thus disappearing in space, leaving its viewers alone with themselves in the void. From the other side the arch is a play of illusions through abstract color combinations. The viewers choose not only from witch angle to consider the physical object itself, but also a point of view on the problems faced by the Ukrainian society.


Installation.

Sodu 4 Gallery. Vilnius, Lithuania. 2018.
Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz. Dresden, Germany. 2019.