Shcherbenko Art Centre

MOTHERLAND EXHIBITION

139 DOCUMENTARY CENTER (TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN)

AUGUST 27, STARTING 6 P.M.

Shcherbenko Art Centre within ‘Inside The War’ exhibition presents the ‘Motherland’ – a video exhibition of Ukrainian artists to be held at the Tashkent-based 139 Documentary Center.

Over the years of Ukraine’s Independence our nation has been walking a long and difficult path of struggle. We’ve been standing together for our sovereignty. And all these 32 years we, Ukrainians, have been filling such notions as ‘democracy’, ‘fight for freedom’, ‘sacrifice’ and ‘self-sacrifice’ with actual meaning – not just by words, but by deeds and civic resolve. We’ve come to realize the high cost of our liberty.

Today – yet again – we reflect on the meanings of ‘freedom’, ‘will’, ‘power of resistance’, and ‘right to life’. Have they changed their meaning? What exactly are we fighting for? From the very first days of russia’s full-scale invasion of our home country, we realized that this is a war of destruction, annihilation, a blatantly genocidal attempt to wipe us from the face of earth. Therefore, we’re left with no choice! If we want to survive, we must fight to defend ourselves and our loved ones! In this war, Ukrainians are fighting for much more than independence – this is an outright fight for life, for our existence. For us, independence is the very basis of the National future.

The artworks presented within the ‘Motherland’ project include: «Lviv Diary» by Vlada Ralko; «Forest, Forest» by Maria Stoianova, «Bad Games or Swan Song» by Lena Kovach, «Lustration / Ablution» by Maria Kulikovska at the ShchAC (Kyiv, 2020 and Linz, 2022); «Inconvenient People» by Alyona Naumenko and Maryna Talutto; «Letters» by Marina Talutto; «No Name Ritual» by Maria Proshkovska; «Explosions Near The Museum» by Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei; «How Will We Remember?» by Piotr Armianovski.

‘After watching the video series «Motherland», the viewer will gain an understanding of how enormous the catastrophe of this war is. The evil that is now flowing from russia into the whole world through Ukraine is limitless in its expression: theft, torture, murder, humiliation, rape. Most of the videos that I have selected focus on the consequences of the russian occupation of our homeland, but I’ve also wanted to show you that we have a strong sense of hope and confidence in our Victory. So, I’ve chosen videos that shape the image of Ukrainians today: our power of resistance, our longing for home, our courage, and the closeness of our family relationships» — says Maryna Shcherbenko, the project curator.

On August 27 at 6:00 p.m., we are opening the ‘Motherland’ – exhibition of social video art by Ukrainian authors at the 139 Documentary Center, 210 Sultonali Mashxadiy ko’chasi, Тоshkent, Uzbekistan.

139 Documentary Center
Tashkent interdisciplinary public space organized by artists, activists, and researchers engaged in local and regional civil society, public sector, entrepreneur, grassroots, artistic and scientific communities in Central Asia and its larger neighborhood.

Shcherbenko Art Centre
Created by Ukrainian curator Maryna Shcherbenko. The aim of the centre is to create opportunities for dialogue between the art world and a broad audience. Shcherbenko Art Centre arranges the exhibitions and works as a venue for lectures, panel discussions, workshops with leading masters of contemporary art in Ukraine and other countries.