Roksolana Dudka: 7 MINUTES TO SMOLNIK & other works

7 MINUTES TO SMOLNIK

The video work “7 Minutes to Smolnik” tells about time, which is the most valuable resource in the present. 7 minutes of a real road that teleports you in time without changing your physical location. The fire truck in this project takes us from the moment of a peaceful and calm life to the moment when we urgently need to help someone, to save someone’s life. The metaphors of meanings and indirect references in this project represent the experience of the artist Roksolana, who, while abroad, always tries to “be close to her own” and “be with Ukraine.”

UNAVAILABILITY OF THE EXISTENCE

The interconnection between natural processes and human experience, relayed through video, emphasizes the dynamism and impermanence of the environment. Scene changes and plot dynamics reflect natural processes and symbolize the unpredictability of the landscape. The video emphasizes the traces left by time and the vulnerability of our physical environment. The combination of real images with abstract forms shows the complexity and multilayered nature of changes in the landscape and physical reality. The project reveals instability and change, the impact of natural disasters, wars and climate change on physical space and human perception of reality, as well as personal stories of people who have experienced landscape change, creating an emotional connection with the viewer.

LANDSCAPE unSTABILITY

The artwork explores the effects of war on people and nature through symbolic images and materials. It includes burnt sheets with photographs taken in the liberated territories of the Kyiv region in 2022. The wedding dress in the photo, which is saturated with human blood from the hem touching the ground, and the white sheet represent images of “home” and a certain “intimacy,” symbolizing lost security and peace. The photographs depict the destruction caused by the war and emphasize the universal human pain, suffering and destruction. The project reveals the impact of the war on people and their homes, as well as the changing landscape in both physical and life dimensions.

The Transnational Artistic Showcase “Reimagining Realities” is an interdisciplinary collaboration residency that unites artists from in Slovakia and Ukraine and seeks to delve into complex themes such as wartime experiences, climate change, digital tools in conflict, resistance, and the profound impact of propaganda on memory and societal mindset.

The Reimagining Realities project is implemented by Tabačka Kulturfabrik n.o. with the support of the IZOLYATSIA foundation, Trans Europe Halles and Malý Berlín and co-financed by the ZMINA: Rebuilding program, created with the support of the European Union under a dedicated call for proposals to support Ukrainian displaced people and the Ukrainian Cultural and Creative Sectors.