In the 1980s and 1990s, Europe experienced significant ideological, geopolitical and economic changes, accompanied by transformations in all social and cultural areas. The transition from the totalitarian Soviet Union to the democratic world, from a communist reality to capitalism, was characterized by the global impact of perestroika. It made it possible to restructure the previous political system, to rethink the individual as a citizen, his or her rights and freedoms, as well as a change of consciousness in the cultural sphere. After the fall of the “Iron Curtain”, especially with the freedom to travel from 1988, artists began to participate in intercultural dialogues internationally and increasingly encountered Western influences. The new impulses and a different approach to emerging media influenced the development of their own cultural identity. As a result, the visual arts changed both in terms of their technical means and in the choice of themes and their narrative realization. 

The exhibition Transformation. The History of Ukraine in the Video Art of the 1990s and 2000s outlines the political, social and economic conditions of the complex decade of transition in Ukraine, which are reflected in the video art of the time. Divided into different thematic blocks, the exhibition presents a variety of videographic and filmic examinations ranging from social and psychedelic self-awareness to media reflection and political criticism.

The exhibition was curated by Georg Elben and Kateryna Ray. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It opens on Sunday, 3 November 2024 at 12 noon with a welcoming address by Claudia Schwidrik-Grebe, Head of Cultural Affairs of the City of Marl, and an introduction by Georg Elben. 

Participating artists:

Max Afanasyev (TOTEM), Andrij Bojarov, Oksana Chepelyk, Oleksii Degtyar (Spitzname Maket), Victor Dovhalyuk (AKUVIDO), Natalia Filonenko, Anatoliy Gankevich, Oleksandr Hnylytskyi, Illya Isupov, Gleb Katchuk, Olga Kashimbeckova, Oleg Kharchenko, Ute Kilter, Hanna Kuts (AKUVIDO), Alfred Maksimenko, Maxim Mamsikov, Ihor Podolchak, Kiril Protsenko, Oleksandr Roitburd, Arsen Savadov, Georgii Senchenko, Ivan Tsupka, Lesja Zajac, Mykola Zhuravel

Graphic Design: Studio BY