The exhibition "Repeat After Me II" by the Open Group collective was officially opened at the most important artistic event in Europe - the International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.
The opening ceremony was attended by the artists: Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga and Pavlo Kovach, who came to Venice straight from the front in Ukraine, and the curator of the exhibition - Marta Czyż. The caretaker of the Polish Pavilion is the National Art Gallery - Zachęta.
The theme of this year's La Biennale di Venezia is "Foreigners Everywhere" and refers to mass migrations, crossing and redefining borders, national communities and cultures.
The answer to this slogan is the exhibition "Repeat after me II" - a collective portrait of witnesses of the war in Ukraine, presented in the form of an installation resembling a karaoke bar. However, in this case, the accompaniment is not famous hits, but gunshots, cannonades, howls and explosions, and the text - descriptions of deadly weapons.
Open Group artists show war as a collective experience, independent of age, origin, professional and social status, giving a voice to its witnesses and focusing attention on the individual experience of the catastrophe.
Instructions on how to behave in a threat situation distributed by the Ukrainian government vary depending on whether the attack carried out is assault rifle fire, artillery fire, multiple rocket launchers or aerial bombardment. The ability to recognize them by their sounds helps save lives, as witness accounts prove.
The International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia - is organized every two years, since 1895. Poland has been participating in it since 1932. The construction of the Pavilion was financed by the Polish government and it remains its property to this day. During the six-month exhibition, projects by over 300 artists from around the world are presented in the national pavilions in the biennial exhibition area (Giardini and Arsenale) and in various places in Venice.
The exhibition can be viewed at the Polish Pavilion in Venice until November 24, 2024.
The members of the Open Group collective are Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach and Anton Varga. They invite other people to join the Open Group for the duration of projects with their participation. The collective's work is based on research on interactions and communication between artists, recipients, situations and space. In their practice, they also explore the concept of collective cooperation.
Marta Czyż is an art historian, independent curator and critic. Lives and works in Warsaw. She is the curator of the Polish Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 (with an exhibition by the Ukrainian Open Group collective).
source: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
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