On Friday, 2 June, at 16.00, the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre will open its summer season with an exhibition by a legendary group of Latvian artists and powerful art projects from the UK, Poland and Ukraine.
“HOW DID I GET TO THE BOMB SHELTER” is an interdisciplinary exhibition by seven Ukrainian artists who explore themes related to their personal experiences of war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, longing for peace and security, their paths towards survival and hopes for the future.
The works explore these topics across several dimensions by creating a dialogue between the new reality in Ukraine and the experiences generated by this reality. The viewer is immersed in the abstract history of Ukraine to enable a vicarious experience of the breaking moment separating before and after. All this encourages several challenging questions: What will be left to restore and recreate when the war is over? How to find peace during these difficult times and keep hope alive for the future?
Featured artists: Kinder Album (1982), Mykhaylo Barabash (1980), Jaroslav Kostenko (1979), Sergiy Petlyuk (1981), Olena Subach (1980), Art Group Sviter (1982) and Maxim Finogeev (1987).
Curator: Yuliia Sapiha. Graphic Design: Olenka Zahorodnyk
“The world is not the same since February 2022, when Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine forced us to take a stance against violence and evil. We need to support Ukraine in all ways possible, and by letting Ukrainian artists express their emotions during these traumatic times, we all get a deeper understanding of the dire consequences of war.
We are happy to be able to bring the unique exhibition “How did I get to the bomb shelter”, which was originally produced for the Nordic House on Iceland, to Latvia. We are extremely grateful to the Mark Rotko Centre in Daugavpils – one of the most prominent exhibition spaces in Latvia – for finding a way to include this important exhibition in their summer programme on a short notice. This will give all Latvians one more reason to visit the beautiful city of Daugavpils!”
/Stefan Eriksson, NCM Office Director/
The exhibition was commissioned by the Nordic House in Reykjavik. Its display in Latvia is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Latvia.
The exhibition will be open until 27 August 2023.
