‘STRONGER THAN ARMS’ is very close to the hearts of the gallery staff. The atrocities of the war in Ukraine have created a chasm, separating people from families, families from their homes and has directly affected the lives of both of our gallery assistants whose families have suffered loss and a complete change in living circumstances since the war began.

 

This exhibition, under the guidance of senior gallery staff, has been entirely curated by both  Polina Usenko and Olga Fedorova and showcases Ukrainian Urban and Contemporary art. 'STRONGER THAN ARMS', originally a title of an old Ukrainian film which dealt with war in Eastern Ukraine, was an opportunity for the gallery to celebrate the beauty and strength of Ukrainian culture in an uplifting way and to introduce a rhetoric that stands apart from desperation and loss.

 

All communication was  carefully transcribed into Ukrainian and the artists who are featured are still currently living and practicing in the Ukraine. When faced with the challenge of getting the artwork out of the country given the permits required and the time constraints that arose around unpredictable transport methods it became clear that the exhibition may not be able to go ahead as planned. Facing this standstill, Polina set out a personal goal to raise the funds needed to transport the work herself. Having raised £1000 in only three days she then undertook the 100 hour Journey to and from the Ukraine with a friend. Armed with a camera and a bag of school books she donated to refugee children, Polina made the very personal journey back to Lviv where she collected the work of 6 different artists.

 

The exhibition features the work of:

Alla Alekseieva

Anastasia Belous

Michael Corobcov

Mishel and Nicol Feldman

Oleksander Grebenyuk (Graph0man)

Vitaly Greh (Dilkone)

Serhii Greh (Ferosone)

Denys Metelin

Arkhip Nejinskiy

David Yablonsky

Zdesroy

 

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