The Ukrainian projects at the Manifesta 14 and Ars Electronica: the problem of subjectivity in the cultural and political context of the war

Abstract

The article raises issues of the subjectivity of Ukrainian art and culture, in particular in its theoretical and practical aspects, which was developed by the artistic projects of Ukrainian authors, implemented abroad during the war within the framework of representative art forums and exhibitions of Manifesta 14, Ars Electronica, EDAF and others. The purpose of the article is the formation of professional awareness of the practices of Ukrainian contemporary art regarding the problem of the subjectivity of Ukraine on the international arena, through the prism of critical thinking and sensitivity in the cultural and political context of the war, for the sake of modern cultural creation, as well as to facilitate further research studies, of the Ukrainian art projects, implemented abroad during the war within the framework of representative art forums and exhibitions, for their full involvement in the national art discourse. The process of struggle for the subjectivity of Ukraine both within the country and on the international arena is explored. The methodology of the study consists in theoretical and field research on the topic of the subjectivity of Ukrainian art and in the author’s experiments development. The main method is a comprehensive and systematic approach to highlighting issues of subjectivity in culture and art, visual and photometric methods, analysis of concepts, of the artistic realizations, of the relationship between content and form, contexts and discourses. The concept of sensitivity was involved, which includes feelings of empathy and solidarity. The peculiarities of the Ukrainian projects’ presentations within the framework of the top forums of contemporary art were explored, including Manifesta Biennale 14 with the theme «It matters what worlds world worlds: how to tell stories otherwise», Festival for Art, Technology and Society Ars Electronica with the theme «Welcome to Planet B: A different life is possible. But how?» and EDAF, which served as a training ground for the formation of the subjectivity of Ukrainian contemporary art. The case studies were researched of projects by such Ukrainian artists: Stanislava Pinchuk, Alevtina Kakhidze, Oksana Chepelyk, Daria Pugacheva, Danyil Revkovskyi, Andriy Rachinskyi, the art group Sviter and Ivan Svitlychnyi, fantastic little splash, Oleksandr Burlaka and DE NE DE, shown within the framework of representative art exhibitions. The role of the curator and the artist as an agent of the subjectivity of Ukrainian contemporary art in the cultural and political context of the war have been analyzed. Given the fact that the basis of the interaction between contemporary art and the audience is discursive, the signs of the blurred subjectivity of Ukraine are revealed and the prospects for the establishment of Ukraine as an independent subject of culture in the system of global forces are outlined.