Photo: UGallery

On July 17, PinchukArtCentre presented two exhibitions in Kyiv. In particular, the group project "When Faith Moves Mountains" is dedicated to Ukrainian culture and its connection with Europe and was prepared in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp M HKA.

The exposition includes the works of international artists from the M HKA collection, which enter into a dialogue with the works of Ukrainian authors: Oleksandr Burlaka, Anna Zvyagintseva, Nikita Kadan, Vlada Ralko, Alytyna Kahidze, Andriy Sagaidakovsky, Oleksiy Say, Kinder Album and others. Most of the works of Ukrainian artists became a reaction to the full-scale invasion of Russia.

Other authors found the strength and opportunity to work during the war, creating works that directly react to it and its reflection. A symbolic example of this is Lesia Khomenko, who, during the full-scale invasion, depicts soldiers and volunteers on canvas.

She created a group composition for the exhibition depicting soldiers and volunteers who rallied around the army to support our defenders. The work represents the unbreakable unity of Ukraine, the ability to unite for the sake of survival.

Although works of art cannot be insured against all risks caused by war, M HKA has provided 40 artworks from its collection to express solidarity with Ukraine.

This is a symbolic moment in history. Ukraine was recently welcomed into the European family. Now one of the leading institutions shares its work with Ukraine at its own risk. This gesture means that Ukraine is Europe

Bjorn Geldhof, PinchukArtCentre art director and exhibition co-curator

The second project, "Russian War Crimes", is a series of photographs documenting the deaths of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure caused by the occupiers. The pictures were taken in different regions of Ukraine from the first day of the full-scale invasion until the beginning of July. The key element of the exposition is a video by Oleksiy Sai. In his work, the artist collected 6,400 images documenting war crimes.

Previously, the gallery also presented the projects "This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom" within the framework of the Venice Biennale and "House of Russian War Crimes" in Davos during the World Economic Forum. In addition, PinchukArtCentre and M HKA launched the "Imagine Ukraine" initiative. The project was developed jointly with the Bozar Fine Arts Center, the European Parliament and the Office of the President of Ukraine. It acknowledges the country's pressing humanitarian and military problems and at the same time, seeks to create a space for thinking about the future after the war.