Red River installation. Photo: Oleh Samoilenko
In Dnipro, 95 km from the front line, the Dnipro Art Museum has unveiled Red River, an installation created from around 250 metres of lace.
Source: artist Valerii Kuznietsov
Details: Red River is the work of artist Valerii Kuznietsov, together with his wife Kateryna Kuznietsova, and Artem Maliutin and Tetiana Shchedrova.
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Valerii told UP.Kultura that he finished the piece on 5 July, but it’s only now that he has decided to reveal it. The impetus for this came when news broke of the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where a red carpet was rolled out for Putin. It was then that the artist resolved to present his work to the world.
“The work is transformed into a living artery that wraps around the stairs and walls, addressing the themes of war, memory, blood, and loss,” Valerii has written.
The installation is made of ethylene-vinyl acetate, a flexible synthetic material that is a by-product of shoe manufacturing.
The artist noted that the material resembles modelling clay. Vinyl ties used in the installation give it a spiky appearance.
“That adds meaning as well. We created something that brings to mind our traditional [Ukrainian] patterns,” Valerii said. “But we also wanted to convey, in this mass, that it is blood that takes on the forms of these patterns. And I’m very glad we presented this project in an art museum, because our work goes well with the pieces currently on display there.”
Red River installation
All Photos: Oleh Samoilenko
He added that in Dnipro, just 95 km from the front line, the installation is both a physical and an emotional response to the events that are unfolding. The red, mesh-like structure evokes “the vulnerability of the human body, traditional cultural ornaments, and the creeping shadow of violence”.
The project continues a long-term exploration of this material, which the artists have been working with since 2008.
One of Valerii’s future plans is to make the river even longer and present the work in other cities.
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