Artwork by: Zhanna Kadyrova
GRAIN: burning issue
Grain has become a burning issue in many senses. Ukraine used to deliver grain to over 400mln people worldwide. With the full-scale Russian invasion everything has changed dramatically. The Russian Federation is blocking the ways of grain delivery, shelling Ukrainian ports and grain storages, mining the fields, destroying machines for cultivating the land. Hunger is used as the tool of war and oppression. Human life is devalued. This is not the first case of such actions of Russia towards other nations. The Soviet Union was responsible for the Holodomors in Ukraine – a man-made famine of 1921/23, 1932/33, 1946/47 which resulted in millions of Ukrainians starving to death in the country which was feeding the whole world. We don´t want our children to experience war or hunger. That is why it is important to draw attention to the burning issues in an attempt to create a better future for the upcoming generations. The topic is discovered through photography, video-works, installations, featuring elements of Ukrainian folk art through colour, traditional folk-art techniques and values reflected in the artworks. Moreover, the topic is embodied in the grain itself – grain delivered from Ukraine (Izmail, Odesa region), burned by the Russian shelling. The visitors can also see parts of the drone, which Russia used to destroy the grain.
The opening featured speeches by: Josefstadt District leader Martin Fabisch and Deputy Director of the Volkskundemuseum Claudia Peschel-Wacha.
The exhibition was accompanied by a discussion “How Holodomor Influenced the Mentality of the Upcoming Generations” with the psychologist Nataliya Tereschenko. Curatorial tours in English and Ukrainian took place.
With the kind support of: Volkskundemuseum Wien, Josefstadt, Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Austria, Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, Odesa Regional Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Representative Office in Odesa.
Artists: Zhanna Kadyrova, Pavlo Mazai, Libkos (Kostiantyn Liberov and Vlada Liberova), Kostiantyn Polishchuk, Svitlana Zhytnia, Oksana Gryniv, Yana Gryniv.
Curated by: Yana Gryniv.
Time: 9.11-3.12.2023
Location: Volkskundemuseum Wien, Vienna, 1080, Laudongasse 15-19
During the GRAIN: burning issue exhibition were produced metal boxes with 5 burned grain seeds with the inscription: Grain burned by Russia, Izmail, Odesa region, 2023. These boxes were presented for the Ambassadors of 55 countries at the OSCE meeting in Vienna and at the Ministerial Council in Skopje (presented by Ambassador Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent mission of Ukraine to the International organizations in Vienna).
"The permanent representative of Ukraine added that the world needs “a vaccine against attempts to turn food into a weapon, including through the recognition of the Holodomor as an act of genocide.”
"У цій маленькій коробочці я маю при собі п'ять зерен, спалених Росією за допомогою іранських безпілотників в Ізмаїлі. Росія знищила сотні тисяч тонн зерна, позбавивши таким чином сім'ї по всьому світу найнеобхіднішого продовольства. Як українців у 1932-1933 роках під час Голодомору", - заявив Цимбалюк, тримаючи в руках коробочку зі спаленими зернинами.
"Ukraine’s Ambassador to the OSCE Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk held up a small box of grains and said that they had been “burnt by Russia with the Iranian drones in Izmail.” He added: “Russia has destroyed hundreds of thousands of tons of grain, thus depriving families around the globe of essential food.”
"At today’s OSCE meeting, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, showcased Ukrainian grain scorched by the Russian army in Izmail, urging the organization to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people."
Photo by: Yana Gryniv
EN
UA
GE
EN
EN
