Ukrainian artists' installation at World Economic Forum shows drone attacks on European cities
Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai has unveiled an installation reading Change or Die alongside an AI-generated video depicting the bombing of European cities by artists Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda.Kultura (Culture)
Details: The display was set up at the Ukraine House in Davos where speakers included representatives of business, the public sector, politics and the media.
Sai explained how he created the LED installation as an appeal to the international community.
Quote: "I have my own method, a mechanism, for works like this. If a thought is drilling into my head, I give it time, about a week. If after that time there is just one thought that does not go away, then I decide how to bring it to life. At that moment, I am sure this thought lives not only in me but also in others.
That is exactly what happened. Everyone quotes this phrase, it has taken root here. Now many people think exactly the way we wrote it."
More details: The installation is accompanied by another work by Ukrainian artists Yarema Malashchuk and Roman Khimei: a screen showing an AI-generated video of drone attacks on European capitals and Davos. The video partly reflects threats made by Russian propagandists against European countries that support Ukraine.
The exhibition also features a work by English artist Damien Hirst.
The exhibition has been curated by Björn Geldhof, artistic director of the PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv), in collaboration with Ilona Demchenko, head of the Jam Factory Art Center in Lviv.
"It is a simple message. It seems universal but it is also one for everyone. I would expand it into a longer phrase. If I am asked about it, I say this: the world we knew is already gone. So either we change or... or there is no way forward. That is all," Sai said, explaining the meaning of the phrase Change or Die.
As part of the World Economic Forum, artist Marina Abramović also presented her installation The bus.
It is a former school bus turned into a "mobile exhibition space on wheels". Participants are invited to enter the bus to "pause and embark on an inner journey that has the potential for lasting change and transformation".
Once inside, visitors hand in their digital devices and receive noise-cancelling headphones. They are then guided through the Abramović Method, a series of exercises focused on breathing, stillness and temporal awareness.
Last year at the Ukraine House in Davos, Sai presented the installation Volia (Will). It was built from the letters of a welcome sign for the frontline village of Liubymivka in Kherson Oblast. The village was first occupied by the Russian forces in March 2022 and Ukrainian forces liberated it on 3 October 2022. The sign was badly damaged by Russian artillery fire and assault rifle casings.
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