MYKOLA RIDNYI - LOSS OF VISION

Today’s wars are wars of images. Visuals of military tactics, war crimes, and destruction fill our daily lives, but they are more than just reports. They compete in the information battlefield. Violent imagery has always driven the media, but with 24/7 news and social media, global audiences are constantly exposed to conflict images. News are commercialized, footage is edited like action films cutting out normal life to keep viewers hooked. In a body of works created within the last decade, Mykola Ridnyi explores how to discuss violence without perpetuating it, by using metaphors of blindness to highlight society’s dehumanization amidst sensational news and challenges of war. Since 2014 the artist has dealt with Russian war against Ukraine, its transformations and its perception in the world on its way from a hybrid conflict to the full-scale invasion.

curated by Sabine Gamper