Expositions of works by plastic artists from Ukraine, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Russia, the Netherlands, and China will be open for a month. First International Festival of Contemporary Sculpture was launched on June 3 in Mykola Hryshko National Botanical Garden. The initiator of the event is the Spilna Meta (Common Goal) Foundation.
Festival includes two projects: main and special. Overall 15 sculptures of young artists will be presented within the framework of the main project: 9 of them were made by Ukrainian artists, and the rest are the works by artists from Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Russia, and the Netherlands. Most of the works were created and assembled already in Ukraine. Despite the fact that the festival is held for the first time, there were nearly 300 artists from 39 countries worldwide willing to participate in this project.
Artists picked different themes and styles. They expressed their opinion on the subject of environmental protection. Sculpture of Sally Kidall from Australia – installation of four chairs and a table with grass planted on top of them. Each of the objects is wrapped in a big plastic bag, which creates the greenhouse effect inside of it and because of this the grass will get rotten during the time of the exhibition. In such a way the artist tried to remind the humankind about the danger of irresponsible treatment of the environment. Karin van der Molen from the Netherlands made an installation on a similar topic. Her sculpture was a 500-kilogram moon made of metal and hay hanging on trees.
Grevis group expressed their nostalgia for childhood with a giant three-meter tall button. Another interesting work of Ukrainian sculptors was the sculpture Laws of Nature created by Ubik group. Clay mobile phones, computers, calculators, video tapes – all these “relics” of modern civilization will be gradually destroyed under the impact of the environment. The message of the installation is that things that were important yesterday today may become a manifestation of anachronism.
Another artist Oleksii Sai in his installation Abandoned Parking Lot of Corporate Nomands embodied his reflection on the routine of office life.
Within the framework of the Special project works of the internationally renowned sculptors, such as Eva Rothschild, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Suy Jianguo, Nigel Hall, and Jaume Plensi were brought to Ukraine. Chinese artist Suy Jianguo personally presented his work Mao’s Jacket. The sculpture is dedicated to the changes that are taking place in his country.
Visitors can come and see the exposition until July 2. In addition to this, according to the organizers, there will be a series of educational activities held within the framework of the project. Admission to the festival is free, visitors have to pay only for tickets to the botanical garden.
