First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska addressed the participants of the Malta Biennale on the occasion of the opening of the Ukrainian pavilion.
The Malta Biennale (maltabiennale.art 2024) is a new international exhibition of contemporary art in Europe. It began on March 13 and will run until May 31, 2024.
The Biennale is organized by Heritage Malta, Arts Council Malta and the National Museum of Art MUŻA. The event is held under the patronage of UNESCO and the President of Malta.
The national pavilion of Ukraine has recently opened as part of the event. The Biennale jury chose the project From South to North by artist Alevtina Kakhidze, proposed by the Past / Future / Art memory culture platform in partnership with the Odesa National Art Museum, NOS art production from Italy, and the Ukrainian Institute. The project focuses on one of the Biennale's key themes, decolonization, given Russia's war against Ukraine and the topic of analyzing the imperial past, which is relevant for both Ukraine and Malta.
The project symbolically unites Malta and Odesa, the city – gateway between the Ukrainian steppe and the Mediterranean. From South to North pavilion sets the direction of the view from Malta towards Ukraine, from south to north.
Alevtina Kakhidze's project consists of a video work filmed in Odesa in early 2024 in collaboration with the artist Roman Khimei and installations created specifically for the pavilion space. In the mirror of her own family history, the artist analyzes how the empire destroys the lives of different generations and how this sometimes invisible influence changes over time. Alevtina Kakhidze overlays her family's story with the events of the XX century in Ukraine and Europe, creating a link to the XXI century: the storyline continues with the artist's personal experience during the period of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Just as Malta is the south of the Mediterranean, Odesa is ours, Ukrainian south, with the atmosphere of a seaside city familiar to the Maltese. Odesa has changed a lot in the two years of the full-scale invasion. Every day, missiles fly from the sea, killing people, destroying the historic center, which, by the way, is a UNESCO heritage, like the Maltese capital Valletta. Rockets destroy monuments and museums. For example, the Odesa National Art Museum, in partnership with which the Ukrainian pavilion was created, was also damaged in the autumn. However, it continues to work, because this is one of the tasks of art – to reflect on reality, not to stand aside. I would like the guests of the Biennale from all over the world to see themselves in Ukrainian Odesa, in Ukraine itself, first of all. To see a civilization and culture that fights against chaos. And does not allow destroying itself and others," Olena Zelenska emphasized.