The R.E.P. (Revolutionary Experimental Space) Group project: Patriotism. Art as a Present
The R.E.P. (Revolutionary Experimental Space) group was founded in November 2004. Its members are Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Volodymyr Kuznetsov, Ksenia Hnylytska, Lada Nakonechna, and Lesia Khomenko.
The exhibition on the 4th floor of the art centre in the Project Room consists of three components overall: the art exposition itself, a free newspaper distribution and a lineup of events that bring together different personalities from the realm of culture. The exhibition is meant to be a performance platform that unites artists, curators, experts, activists and ordinary people. On show is a monumental spatial installation assembled from pictograms of an artificial visual language created by the R.E.P. group. The work is to be ‘read’ with the help of a dictionary presented in the exhibition in the format of a newspaper.
The many-sided Patriotism. Art as a Present — is a mobile project that since 2006 has been showcased in Poland, Russia, Netherlands and other countries. It employs a logotype alphabet to form a universal language. Playing with collective memory, this project — intentionally created for the gallery’s space and prepared to be in line with the room’s context — is inspired by the Soviet propaganda and political communication technologies that still linger within local democracy. A blend of irony, humour and undermining activity, obscured by a manner these logos are used, allows the artists to make up various stereotypes and bits of information about Ukraine and Europe and also touch on such issues as migration, spreading the knowledge or corruption.
Curator – Claire Staebler
