“Ukraine opened its eyes”

The 9th international 4th Block eco-poster triennial, one of Ukraine’s most brilliant art events, has come to a close in Kharkiv. Winners have been announced and the two-week-long master classes, lectures, and expositions have been analyzed. Organizers say this year’s “visual explosion” was not only a cultural, but also a social event.

Star jury members from the Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia claim that the world’s largest galleries have never seen so many (about a thousand) brilliant artworks at several venues. Lotus flowers on water, like the hands of a drowning person who reaches out for help; people with axes instead of bodies; animals that are taking revenge on man for their extinction; the Tower of Babel in the shape of a skull with the nine circles of hell – the themes of the Earth environment, Man, and Culture are closely intertwined in the winning works. The organizers explain that, like in real life, we all depend on one another and on the possibility to have a dialog and save the Earth.

The choice of a grand prix shows that the current events in Ukraine, the ravages of the Donbas war, were the festival’s key note, and social issues have superseded those of environmental protection. An additional antiwar nomination was introduced during the exposition. For example, a special prize was awarded for the poster “Donbas Symphony” which depicts a crying little girl with tank-shaped earphones on. Its author, Kharkiv-based Olha Maltseva, was born in Donetsk. The grand prix was awarded for embroidered shirts that show pixel “DNR” militants who shoot down a Boeing and sow death among traditional Ukrainian flowers and birds. The winner, Bella Logacheva, is linked with Donetsk not only emotionally – her parents live there because they have no place to escape to from the hostilities. Bella says her drawings were originally a reaction to a sudden war and were literally based on news reports. “We have always had peace, embroidered shirts, ornaments, and birds. And, suddenly, a war… Who expected it? So, I made an ornament: tanks roll out of flowers. I did my first drawings at the level of mockery and artistic protest. I hope I am ousting evil by means of these ornaments,” she says. The jury chairperson Maria Norazian spoke about plans “to take antiwar posters out on the street,” so that more peopled could see them.

“It is an absolutely world level in terms of quality and agenda,” says Peter Bankov, a Czech, who came to the triennial from New York. “The Ukrainian designers were a discovery for all. It’s no secret that as recently as 20 years ago it was difficult to speak of such thing as Ukrainian poster design. But this year I can assert that it exists, having been formed in a mystical way over the past few years. Of course, there has always been a high culture here. Now, too, by force of circumstances, people have felt an inner necessity to show this supreme culture. Incidentally, Russia is not disposed to visual culture, which creates an awful impression that it is blind. But here everyone saw that Ukraine had opened its eyes.”

Peter Bankov, founder of the design journal Kak, is sure that a good design is the first sign that the country is becoming normal. It is a marker of status and of the state of affairs in the country – the higher the culture, the higher the design and wellbeing. Therefore, experts view the 4th Block triennial’s expositions as a sign of Ukraine having a European society. Russia’s Andrei Logvin, another jury member, a graphic design academician and member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, notes that what impressed him the most at the triennial was the reaction of visitors. “I was stunned to see the way young guys discussed this exhibit, trying to understand what was displayed. The only regretful thing is the fact that a world-level event like this lacks support from the municipal and central authorities. This should be a government-sponsored event, when the authorities understand the necessity of normal communication and make it a feast, a people’s extravaganza, as they do, for example, in Chaumont, France.”