SEFO Reserve draws attention to the loss of Ukraine's cultural heritage

The SEFO enclosure next to the Museum of Modern Art has been given a new look today by the Ukrainian artist duo Anna Khodikova and Kristina Yarosh, who call themselves EtchingRoom1. The enclosure draws attention to the loss of heritage and cultural assets that has been taking place on Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the total Russian invasion.

„The artist duo Etchingroom1 has prepared a two-part project, By heart, for the Triennial, responding to the long-term research of Ukrainian archaeologist Roman Liubun. For the Triennial, Liubun updated his detailed documentation of the loss of heritage and cultural assets occurring in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. The research shows that by the end of May 2024, up to 1062 cultural monuments had been destroyed and damaged in Ukraine, particularly in border areas and major cities like Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Odesa.,“ says Jakub Frank, curator of the SEFO 2024 Triennial.

“The project intentionally highlights monuments – buildings and cultural heritage – they, however, always serve as symbols of people’s fates. Each building represents its inhabitants, visitors, and users, and each cultural heritage item represents its creator – artist or craftswoman – and their lives influenced by political or social decisions. Etchingroom1 uses stylisation and abstraction to convey universal emotions. Combined with the visualised data from Roman Liubun’s research, they precisely depict the destruction currently occurring just a few hundred kilometres beyond our borders, but also figuratively at every moment in every place,” adds Frank