In Paris, at the L'AiR Arts Gallery, Maryna Semenkova, who fled from Ukraine to France, showed her vision of the war.
Photo: Luca Papini
The girl presented to the public a documentary video made up of photographs and her story about the first days of the war in Odessa. She also showed a performance in which she sealed the windows with tape, as Ukrainians do, to reduce the risk of injury from explosions. At the same time, Maryna Semenkova sang the Ukrainian folk song.
I have been working with adhesive tape in my performances for a long time. This is very symbolic. I glued the tape and remembered how it was in Odessa. This is how I defended my home, myself, my life
Maryna Semenkova
The girl says that the windows in the gallery are very colorful. This place has survived two wars. Modigliani lived here, Anna Akhmatova came to see him here.
"It was a haven during the war years for artists. And I repeat their experience,†Maryna admits.
A lot of people of different nationalities came to the meeting with the Odessa woman - from the French and Italians to Russian dissidents who fled from Putin. Many of them were crying.
After that, the guests were treated to Ukrainian borscht, and Marina answered the questions of those present in the “artist talk†format.
The action was a great success in Paris, and now the gallery management is thinking about how to turn the sealed windows into museum exhibits.
Note that Maryna lives on the second floor of the art residence and the audience had complete freedom of movement around the temporary shelter of the Odessa artist. This strengthened the feeling of "being inside what is happening."
