Ukraine

National Pavilion

From South to North

This exhibition explores the complex narratives of decolonisation and shared imperial pasts between Ukraine and Malta, repositioning Odesa as the North of the Mediterranean rather than the South of the Empire. Kakhidze’s project reveals the paradoxical interweavings of human destinies in imperial spaces and the weird mutual blindness provoked by imperial optics. Both countries share the experience of imperial silencing, cultural appropriation, and the denial of political tradition. These common threads reveal themselves when examining such seemingly disparate colonies as Ukraine and Malta.

Curator

Kateryna Semenyuk and Oksana Dovgopolova

Kateryna Semenyuk and Oksana Dovgopolova are co-founders of the memory culture platform Past / Future / Art. Semenyuk is an experienced curator in the Ukrainian art scene focusing on the artistic approach to collective memory. Dovgopolova is PhD in Memory Studies and unites academic background with curatorial practice. They perform art exhibitions, public discussions, artistic laboratories, memorial competitions. Among the latest exhibitions are “From 1914 till Ukraine” at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart and “Ground Shadows” at Kazerne Dossin Museum. Both were part of the teams of the Ukrainian Pavilions at the 58th Venice Biennale and at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2023.

Artist/s

Alevtina Kakhidze

Alevtina Kakhidze is a multidisciplinary artist working in the fields of performance, drawing, time-based media, curatorship, and collaborative art with a focus on consumerism, plant culture, feminism, and life in conflict zones. Raised in the Donetsk Region and now based outside Kyiv in the village of Muzychi, Kakhidze has become one of the most prominent artists working in Ukraine today. Her works have been included in the collections of the Tate Modern, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp – M HKA, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, SCHUNCK Museum, Art Collection Telekom, the National Art Museum of Ukraine, and others. Among the events she has participated in are EuroFestival in Liverpool (2023), Manifesta 14 (2022), Manifesta 10 (2014), the 7th Berlin Biennale (2012), and more. She has also collaborated with Albertinum, Centre Pompidou, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Whitechapel Gallery and others.