5 envelopes (white paper, C5) with 27 letters and 1 article (white paper, A4), 2024
“Letters on Peace" is based on my personal archive of letters exchanged during the process of working on a group exhibition themed around peace (the absence of war). The correspondence involves the Curator and 9 Artists and reflects a conflict that arose over the provocative theme of the exhibition and the participation of Russian artists. Such conflicts have become frequent in Ukrainian media spaces since the beginning of the full-scale war, driven by informational manipulation.
Discussions about peace often end with the realization that we do not know what peace truly is. Everyone has their own understanding of it. The context of peace is inseparable from the context of war, and consequently, from military propaganda.
My act of using this conflict as a form is my statement: this is the dialogue about peace that is taking place in the world today. This dialogue is impossible without conflict. A true dialogue about peace and compromise, in the context of war, may end up being one of the harshest forms of discourse.
I sense a lack of debate about what peace truly means because Russian propaganda and its supporting far-right radicals frame the word "peace" as a euphemism to justify aggression and secure their objectives, such as the unjust annexation of Ukrainian territories.
In the Ukrainian context, there is a fear of discussing peace, as it is considered inappropriate and often perceived as aligning with "Russian" narratives. This deeply frustrates me because, in this information war, it is vital to talk about our peace—how we envision it.
The most painful realization is that peace cannot be discussed without acknowledging the enemy. Peace is something inconvenient for both sides, a compromise that untangles conflict. Yet, as long as we exclude Russian artists from exhibitions and dictate what is “right” or “wrong” in others’ opinions, there will be no democracy or freedom of speech.