Artist's statement:

to my friend Vyacheslav Mashnytsky 

 

LandShaft* [ =Kherson] you are here I am there

I say TSUM*

You say TSAM

I say TSAM

you say…

LandShaft* [ =Kherson] I am here and you are there

 

*the ground is covered with plants

 

materials:

here [black hand scarf which survived the occupation in Kherson]

there [ a round handkerchief from the colony in Brno ]

 

TSUM (CUDS) is a Central Universal Department Store in Kherson. The building next to it is the "House of Artists” which is the household of the apartments and workshops of local artists. Here, in his own apartment, Kherson artist Vyacheslav Mashnytsky created a gallery, and later the Museum of Contemporary Art of Kherson (MCAK). He had an experience of Kyiv art squats of the 90s – "Paris Commune", squat on Olehivska and "VZ" ("Velika Zhytomyrska"). MCAK quickly became one of the informal centers of Kherson's artistic life.

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During the occupation of Kherson, Vyacheslav Mashnytsky deliberately stayed in his hometown to take care of the collection of MCAK. He went to rallies against the occupation and said: "Victory is a special form of art."

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At the end of October 2022, shortly before the liberation of Kherson from the Russian invaders, the artist's relatives and friends lost contact with him. Traces of blood and signs of robbery were found at the artist's dacha. Since then, the search for the artist continues.