At first sight, the painting radiates peace and happiness: The sun is shining brightly, people in summer clothes stand knee deep in the sea. Yet, looking closer, one notices that the water’s surface is disturbed by splashes from the entry of bullets, and the people in the painting are actually under attack. Their safety was just an illusion.
The painting is part of the “Trading Illusions” Arts and Film Biennale that kicked off in Kyiv on Sept. 27. It was initiated by a Ukrainian non-government organization called the Congress of Cultural Activists and the Wilhelm Fraenger-Institut in Germany, with the support of the Ukrainian and German governments.
The program of the Biennale includes film screenings, art and photo exhibitions, installations, music performances, public discussions, and lectures. “Trading Illusions” resulted from cooperation between artists from around Ukraine and from the German village Worpswede, in Lower Saxony.
The village is a fabled German artists’ colony, suspended in time on a stretch of German moorland. It offers its visitors a rich variety of cultural venues and a vibrant art scene.
Dwelling of artists
“How large the eyes become here! They want at all times to possess the whole sky,” wrote the young Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke in 1900 while visiting Worpswede.
Artists from around Germany and other countries come to Worpswede to recharge and find inspiration. Walking along the town’s streets, surrounded by magnificent landscapes, artists share their experiences and discuss new ideas. No wonder that Worpswede’s art is highly praised around the globe, and the village itself has the feel of a surreal piece of fairytale surrounded by the real world.
Last year several Ukrainian artists presented their artworks in Worpswede, and this year nine German artists will do the same in Kyiv. Among them is documentary photographer Rudiger Lubricht, 70, painter Sibylle Springer, 42, and lecturer Margaret Kelley, 63, who was born in California in the United States, came to Worpswede on an art scholarship in 1991, and decided to stay there.
German artists will share the spotlight with Ukrainian performers, such as sculptor Kateryna Buchatska, 30, born in Kyiv, sculptor and painter Ruslan Tremba, 37, from western Ukraine, and Vitaliy Kokhan, 30, born in north-western Ukraine, who will present his video installations.
The main theme of Biennale is people’s illusions, says Kateryna Ray, the organizer of the Ukrainian part of the exhibition. As an example, she points to a work by Ukrainian painter Elmira Shemsedinova, called “Searching.” This is the image of the people wearing summer clothes standing near the shore, being fired at from the sky. The painting aims to show how fragile the feeling of safety is and how easily it can be destroyed.
“Choosing artworks for the exhibition, I wanted to show the different forms of illusions that we are surrounded with, and how artists reflect these in their work,” says Ray. “For example, on social media people seem to be very happy, yet very often this is just a mask to cover their loneliness and lack of positive emotions.”
The main goal of the exhibition is to connect Ukraine and Germany through art.
“People in Germany definitely have heard about the war in Ukraine, and this image dominates over other things, Germans know nothing about Ukrainian art,” claims Ray. “We want to change that.”
Mentoring culture
But “Trading Illusions” is not just about German artists learning about Ukraine — it is an art platform for artists from two countries, according to Angela Henkel, head of programming at the exhibition. The motto of the exhibition is: “Show and be shown to.”
“We did not come to Ukraine to mentor you,” Henkel says. “We came to exchange the experience, and we very soon became friends with our Ukrainian partners.”
Henkel believes Ukrainian culture is in the transitional period, when old paragons are being broken and new ones are about to reveal themselves. This is a time when artists can find inspiration in historical events, and through art tell the story of their country, she says.
“Trading Illusions” Arts and Film Biennale. Sept. 27 — Oct. 17. Taras Shevchenko National Museum (12 Taras Shevchenko Blvd., Hr 25) and Dukat Gallery (8B Reitarska St. Free). Sept. 27–30 are opening days at which both German and Ukrainian artists will themselves present their artworks to the public. n
