In these days, in the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, an exhibition titled "Thinking About Ukraine" has been opened, dedicated to the art in Ukraine during the war. One part of the exhibition, consisting of video works, is presented at the Van Abbemuseum, one of the key museums of contemporary art in the Netherlands, and the other part is located in the home and studio of the co-curator of the exhibition and artist Grit Menchert.
"For most residents of the Netherlands, the reality of war in Europe has been a deep shock. However, as is often the case with many shocks, the emotional impact usually wanes, dissipating into the monotonous hum of news. In this situation, art can serve as a powerful and poignant reminder of the reality of war, standing out against the backdrop of the usual flow of information," say the organizers of the exhibition.
The exhibition features works by participants of the BIRUCHIY 2022 residency. Last September, the exposition opened in Warsaw, followed by Oberhausen and Düsseldorf in Germany, and has now arrived in the Netherlands. Among the participants are Alina Yakubenko, Oleksiy Sai, Gabriele Abruzzese, Yegor Antsygin, Yulia Bieliayeva, Vera Blansh, Volodymyr Budnikov, Artem Volokitin, Danilo Halkin, Oleksandr Hliadelov, Volodymyr Hulich, Yulia Danilevska, Hanna Yeresko, Olena Zashko, Oleksiy Zolotar, Illia Isupov, Zhanna Kadyrova, Pavlo Kerestey, Vitaliy Kokhan, Nikita Kravtsov, Nastya Loiko, Tetiana Malinovska, Oleksa Mann, Mykola Matsenko, Pavlo Nikitin, Maria Pasichnyk, Viktor Pokydanets, Maria Proshkovska, Oleh Putrashyk, Vlad Ralko, Svitlana Ratoshnyuk, Denys Ruban, Andriy Stehura, Marcel Onysko, Serhiy Svyatchenko, and Polina Shcherbina.
The artworks convey experiences of living through war, surviving occupation, resistance, unity, and mutual support. A significant number of artists directly documented violence and the impact of war through photographs, videos, or graphic journals. Others consciously counter Russian cultural propaganda, ridiculing its iconography and exposing the cynical system behind it. In addition to capturing pain and loss, the works also leave room for poetry, melancholy, and dark humor as a form of catharsis.
In Eindhoven, the exhibition is hosted and co-curated by artist Grit Menchert in her home and studio, with the support of local residents and the Ukrainian community in the city. Grit has been collaborating with Ukrainians since 2012 when she first visited Kharkiv and met curator Natalia Matsenko. The second part of the exhibition, consisting of video works, is presented at Van Abbemuseum, one of the key museums of contemporary art in the Netherlands.
