Art returns to Kyiv with powerful war exhibition

ART has been shipped to Ukraine for the first time since the Russian invasion began for an exhibition with a political edge in Kyiv.

Inside the capital’s Pinchuk art centre, which has reopened after five months of closure for a joint show entitled Russian War Crimes and When Faith Moves Mountains.

While works of art are typically evacuated from war zones for fear they will be damaged or looted, the centre has showcased art from across Ukraine and Belgium in an exhibition they hope will continue to raise awareness of the terror Russia is inflicting on their country.

Organised in association with the Office of the President of Ukraine, more than 40 works of international artists have been lent to the centre, making the 2,000km journey from Antwerp.

This is despite the fact that the Ukrainian government cannot insure damages that may occur to the pieces because of the war.

Jan Jambon, the minister-president of Flanders, said it was a “risk we willingly take”.

A key part of the exhibition includes the Russian War Crimes exhibition, which features photographs taken from all over Ukraine since February 24 to the beginning of July. The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, brought a copy of the photographs with her during a recent visit to the US in which she addressed Congress.

Also playing at the exhibition is a short film by Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai, which flashes 6,400 images of alleged war crimes across the screen, against a backdrop of a tick-tocking noise. Layered on top are the voices of Russian soldiers mocking those they killed, raped and looted. They are the recordings that were intercepted by Ukrainian special forces.

Mr Sai, 47 said he hated making the film. It took him three weeks, from sourcing the material to editing it, where all he did was “sleep, eat, edit”.

“It was important to make this film to show people the war is total, that this is genocide. For me, it’s made to answer the common question: ‘Why are you not surrendering?’ This shows why it is not OK to surrender.”