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Close your eyes and listen to a field filled with countless productive sounds that together form silence. What do the villages, people in conditional isolation, and temporary displaced persons of the artistic program remain silent about? What is visible from the side but completely lost in perspective? What do these territories live for here and now? What inconsistencies and productivity do everyday actions and reflections carry?
Artists participating in the program have been examining Travneve from different angles and through their own themes for a month, adding new impressions to confirm or deny expectations.
On the value of time, specifically life, which we measure by this very metric. We see physiological changes - the wear and tear of the body, but we do not always correlate this with measuring time, that is, life, against material values. Bohdan Svyrydov created a readymade titled “A Day Weighed in Gold,” addressing a current social phenomenon - the visa-free regime. He subtly states the measurability of well-being by the time spent on it. 90 mornings, 90 uses of a toothbrush, and the process of its wear - counted days spent satisfying material needs.
Roksolana Ugryniuk reflects on the lost villages and the reason for the devaluation of one's own history. She observes how the real fades away as a result of the cumulative hundreds or thousands of small choices made by individuals. In one small area, she finds confirmation of numerous social phenomena - the butterfly effect, the broken windows theory, and the loss of memory due to a traumatic past. Her work embodies a thoughtful choice and consequences, the ability to accept responsibility for them, and to feel a direct connection to the development of contemporary history. Through her work, the artist investigates the level of responsibility.
“Reducing the Weight of Paradoxes,” a polyptych by Kateryna Kobylanska, explores abstract essences through an unsubjected visual narrative. The complexity of each incompatible yet singular entity depends on the weight we assign to a concept or phenomenon. There is always an exit - to move toward positivity and accept it as light, or to embrace the dark essence of the paradox and exit into darkness. In any case, there is an exit, but each individual can choose according to their worldview.
Angela Geisenhofer reflected on levels of vulnerability and feminine tenderness, exploring the context of the location. The artist noted the predominant female population and, as a consequence, the defenseless and fragile nature of the location. In her installation, she depicted the fragility of rituals and fetishes that we imbue with magical power, believing in their helpfulness for protection on various levels.
Four pairs of eyes captured themes significant to them, resonating in the context and visualizing random frames through different mediums. All projects speak about the level of silence on various topics. The puzzles of life in a small community come together into a picture with character through the reflections of artists who attentively listen to life.
Lucy Nychai