Item Summary

Description provided by artist:

"July 22. It's been two months that we’ve lived without data or voice. Local providers who continue to operate in the region receive their signal through Crimea. They do not have the technical ability to connect everyone who is left offline, like me. Therefore, for many citizens it has become the norm to go online behind a neighbor’s door, in a cafe, under the facade of a store or pharmacy. In places where there is a particularly large concentration of Internet surfers, lemonade is sold in the summer heat. City billboards are spammed by posters with the slogan that “Kherson is a city with a Russian history”. It is not clear why we should forget the Ukrainian one, but it is especially worth noting Prince Potemkin Tavrichesky, whose monument stands in a downtown square. By the way, it was restored when Saldo, the collaborator, was serving his second term as Kherson mayor. Thanks to the prince, the term "Potemkin Village" appeared. With the development of technology, there is no need to build facades any more, amateur filmmakers and pseudo-journalists handle everything. Many people have seen how the Antonovsky Bridge became a sieve, but few people know that the day before it had been repaired for the arrival of a great official from Moscow. Or that Russian soldiers are changing rubles to hryvnia in order to shop in the central market... I don't know if the Storyteller notices how he has turned into a Scarecrow and how he is deceived by his favorites, or whether villages are built on his orders. By the term "to fight", obviously, he means to drive in more morons and conscripts on expired tanks and unrivaled horse-drawn carts. Among the Russian military, both are often glimpsed here. As the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine approached, another wave of panic swept the city. It can be felt when you enter its limits - the space thickens and collapses. But for all the absurdity and horror that is happening all around, love, joy, and unwavering confidence in the victory of spirit over the fear and indifference they are trying to impose on us may remain in the consciousness. Being at the core of the events of the war or many kilometers away from it, you can remain happy and compassionate. As in this work, it all depends on where our attention is directed. War is going on not only on the battlefield, but also within each of us. Who wins: fear or courage, compassion or indifference, love or hatred, unity or division, - is up to you, but your personal victory is a huge contribution to the overall victory. And not only of Ukraine, but of all mankind."

Photography, digital art, mixed technique.